The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Nuhu Ribadu, has accused policemen and army personnel of stealing and selling arms and ammunition from their formations to terrorists and other criminal elements.
Ribadu stated this during the destruction of arms by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms And Light Weapons (NCCSALW)) at Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment in Abuja yesterday.
The NSA further said security personnel facilitate the movement of weapons to terrorists, bandits, and other non-state actors, stressing that a sizable number of illicit arms currently in circulation in Nigeria originally belonged to the federal government.
He explained that corrupt elements within the security agencies allowed these weapons to end up in the hands of non-state actors.
The NSA condemned security personnel who facilitate the distribution of weapons to terrorists, bandits, and other non-state actors.
He said security agents involved in the act are “worse human beings”, adding that efforts must be put in place to check those people.
“We have to find a way of putting a stop to this if we want to recover our country and live in peace and stability”.
“The worst human being is a policeman or a soldier who will take arms from his own formations and sell them or hide them out for the bad people to come and kill his own colleagues.
“The proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons remains a major threat to our national security, exacerbating issues such as insurgency, banditry, and other violent crimes,” Ribadu said.
He said the destruction of arms was part of efforts to address the challenge of arms proliferation in Nigeria.
“We have laws that govern ownership of small arms. If you do not follow it, it is an illegal arm and it is supposed to be destroyed completely,” he said.
The NSA said by destroying unserviceable, obsolete and recovered arms, the government was demonstrating its commitment to a secure future for all Nigerians.
In his speech, the director general NCCSALW, Mr Johnson Kokumo (retd), said the arms destruction exercise was the third in a series since the centre was established and the first since his assumption of command.
Kokumo said the challenge posed by the proliferation of SALW was one of the major threats to peace and security in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
The director general said the exercise would witness the destruction of over 2,400 illicit weapons, comprising a mix of unserviceable, decommissioned and recovered arms.
Besides, he disclosed that the weapons recently recovered by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Port Harcourt would be destroyed after the conclusion of the proceedings in court.
“These weapons have been mopped up by the military, police and other security agencies across the country.
“By permanently removing these arms from circulation, we reduce the risk they pose to our communities and send a clear message that Nigeria will not tolerate the illegal trafficking and possession of small arms and light weapons.
“It is also important to state that the National Centre has in its custody some recovered/captured illicit SALW still undergoing tracing as well as investigations and legal processes.
“These include the illicit weapons handed over to the Centre by the Nigeria Customs Service. These categories of weapons would be destroyed on completion of the proceedings during subsequent routine destruction exercises,” he added.
