Non-state Actors in Possession of 5m Weapons, Says Report

A report prepared by a research and consultancy group, Beacon Consulting Ltd., a member of ASIS International, world’s largest association for security management professionals, has shown that of the 6.5 million small arms and light weapons circulating in Nigeria, 5 million are in the possession of non-state actors while 568,000 are in the hands of law enforcement agencies.

Speaking yesterday on “The

Morning Show”, a programme of ARISE NEWS Channel, a THISDAY broadcast arm, the Assistant Regional Vice President, Region 11 ASIS International and Managing Director Beacon Consulting Ltd, Dr. Kabiru Umar, said his consultancy group conducted a research, which showed that non-state actors were in possession of six million light arms and small weapons while law enforcement agencies were left with 586,000.

“Just in March, we did a survey on the circulation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria now and I don’t mean to be a harbinger of bad news or to raise the alarm. But I think it’s important that we know how bad these things are. We came to the conclusion based on verifiable information that there are 6.5 million small arms and light weapons in circulation.

“So, we now did the next step, which is to break down in terms of who has what and we came up with a figure 586,000 in the hands of our law enforcement agents”, he said.