The Nigerian government through the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) has said it had intensified the mopping up of illicit small arms and light weapons nationwide ahead of the 2023 general elections.

This is just as the centre hinted that it had recovered and destroyed over 3,000 illegal arms across the country.

The South West coordinator of the NCCSALW, Ben Sola Akinlade, disclosed this in Abeokuta on Friday, saying the arms were recovered from terrorists, bandits and armed robbers through the help of security agencies.

He said the NCCSALW was established by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021 to tackle the proliferation of illegal arms by mopping up illicit small arms and light weapons in the country.

He said the centre, in collaboration with security agencies, would be monitoring the activities of politicians before, during and after the general elections.

Akinlade, who blamed the influx of small arms on the country’s porous borders, explained that the centre was destroying recovered illegal arms to prevent them from getting into the wrong hands.

He called on Nigerians to be vigilant in the wake of political campaigns and rallies, saying the use of various forms of small arms and light weapons will be rampant.

“We all know what happened in past elections. Some bad eggs in politics will continue to use thugs for campaigns and do a lot of things. The centre will monitor their activities before, during and after the elections. This is not something the centre can do alone, we count on critical stakeholders to help,” he said.

“We all know what happened in past elections. Some bad eggs in politics will continue to use thugs for campaigns and do a lot of things.”