Where Are the Missing Firearms?
Acting on a report from the Auditor-General’s office, the House of Representatives is determined to find over 178,459 arms and ammunition reportedly missing from the Nigeria Police Armoury, writes Udora Orizu
At the plenary last week, the House of Representatives resolved to investigate the missing 178,459 arms and ammunition in the Nigeria Police Force as contained in the 2019 report of the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF).
The worsening insecurity in Nigeria, evident in terrorism, insurgency, kidnapping, communal clashes, armed robbery and so on, provide enough evidence that small and illicit arms are circulating in abundance. In Nigeria, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons is a problem that has been with us for a long time. The influx of these lethal weapons have brought about more heinous crimes, challenges to law enforcement agencies and availability of weapons for insurgents. Aside the lingering terrorism, they also help to explain the spate of armed robberies across the country and number of recovered arms from robbers by security agents. Arms proliferation dates back to the Nigerian Civil War. At the end of the war there was no comprehensive disbandment protocol and demobilisation programme implemented thus the post-civil war era marked the spread of illicit weapons.
However, the war was just one of the factors that led to proliferation. Another factor is arms smuggling, there have been deep concerns over the influx of firearms across the country attributed to the country’s porous borders and corruption by the agencies manning them. For instance, in October 2010 Nigeria’s Secret Service, reportedly intercepted the shipment of 13 containers filled with rocket launchers, grenades and other explosives and ammunition. The cargo was said to be on its way to Gambia and had begun its journey from a port in Iran. Another is the reported interception and seizure of a consignment of pump action rifles alleged to have originated from China through Turkey, along the Mile 2 – Apapa Road, Lagos by the operatives of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). Also, the Tin-Can Customs Command of NCS in December of last year said it’s officers intercepted a container suspected to contain firearms and ammunition. Another instance is the discovery of an illegal arms factory in Agbada, Nenwe in Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State during the first quarter of 2011 by the State Security Service, Enugu State Command. Also, in 2020, the police said at least 1,889 weapons and 52,577 rounds of live ammunition were recovered between January and December 2021.
While the Comptroller- General of Customs, Hameed Ali lamented that the porous borders and dearth of necessary equipment is a challenge to stemming the flow of weapons into the country, President Muhammadu Buhari worried by the frightening trend, recently said only God could “effectively supervise” Nigeria’s 1,400km border with Niger Republic.
The most worrisome factor which also account for the widespread circulation of arms, is theft from security agencies armories or claims of selling of arms by security agents.