By Kingsley Omonobi

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has said the destruction of more than 19,000 illicit, decommissioned and unserviceable small arms and light weapons by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) demonstrates sustained commitment by government to making Nigeria safer.

Ribadu stated this on Thursday in Abuja during the destruction of about 2,809 illicit and unserviceable small arms and light weapons by the NCCSALW.

Represented by the Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr Dennis Otuaro, the NSA said the availability of illegal weapons remained a major factor fuelling insecurity, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes and other violent crimes.

“From the perspective of the Office of the National Security Adviser, the relationship between illicit arms and the insecurity confronting our country is direct and undeniable,” Ribadu said.

He noted that every recovered and permanently destroyed weapon represented a threat removed from society, stressing that transparent destruction was necessary to prevent seized arms from finding their way back into circulation.

“Public, transparent and verifiable destruction, such as we are witnessing today, permanently closes that possibility. It guarantees that these recovered weapons can never again be used against any Nigerian,” he said.

Ribadu said the Federal Government’s security strategy under President Bola Tinubu was built around intelligence-led operations, stronger inter-agency cooperation, disruption of criminal financing networks, improved border security and collaboration with international partners.

He described the control and destruction of illicit small arms and light weapons as a key component of the strategy, adding that it complemented military and law enforcement operations by reducing the number of weapons available to criminal elements.

The NSA commended the NCCSALW, the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies for their efforts in recovering weapons used for the exercise.

He urged Nigerians, traditional rulers, religious leaders and communities to support security agencies by providing credible information on illegal possession, manufacture, trafficking and movement of arms.

“To those who remain engaged in the illegal manufacture, trafficking or use of weapons, let today’s exercise serve as a clear message: every illicit weapon recovered will ultimately end where these weapons are ending today — in the fire, never to return to our streets,” he warned.

Speaking at the event, the Director-General of NCCSALW, DIG Babatunde Kokumo (retd.), said the centre was established to coordinate Nigeria’s national response to the proliferation of illicit arms.

Kokumo said the centre’s mandate was derived from the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons Act 2024 and Nigeria’s obligations under regional and international frameworks, including the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons and the United Nations Programme of Action.

He disclosed that the centre had recovered more than 21,000 illicitly acquired, obsolete, decommissioned and unserviceable weapons since its establishment, with over 16,000 already destroyed before Thursday’s exercise.

“With today’s exercise, that cumulative figure rises to about 19,000 weapons permanently taken out of circulation,” he said.

The NCCSALW boss said the destruction exercise was part of the Federal Government’s wider security approach, which includes military operations, intelligence gathering, community engagement, border security and efforts to reduce the circulation of illegal weapons.

He praised the Nigeria Police Force for contributing the largest number of weapons destroyed through the programme, including 11,907 automatic firearms and locally fabricated arms recovered during policing operations nationwide.

Kokumo also acknowledged the contributions of the Armed Forces, DSS, Customs Service and other security agencies, as well as development partners supporting efforts to trace and safely dispose of illicit arms.

He said the exercise sent a strong message to arms traffickers that illegal weapons recovered by security agencies would be traced and permanently removed from circulation.