By Onilede Titi Faith
The Federal Government has destroyed more than 13,000 illicit and obsolete firearms in the past four years as part of efforts to curb the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), retired DIG Johnson Kokumo, disclosed this on Thursday during the centre’s fifth arms destruction exercise at Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment, Giri, Abuja.
He said 1,316 weapons were destroyed at the event, bringing the total number eliminated since 2021 to over 13,230.
The arms included those seized during counter-terrorism and anti-banditry operations, obsolete military stock, and weapons surrendered by security agencies.
Kokumo described the routine exercise as both a security measure and a show of transparency to ensure illicit arms never re-enter circulation.
He noted that the destruction aligns with Nigeria’s obligations under the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and the UN Programme of Action on illicit weapons.
He added that Nigeria is also working with Chad, Cameroon, and other partners to curb cross-border trafficking, pledging that the exercise will be sustained to enhance national security.
