Arms, Arms Everywhere, But None to Protect us
So much has been said about the insecurity in Nigeria. Everybody, including those in the hitherto strong-walled Aso Rock Villa, are all now on the edge. As they say, if fire can burn the tortoise with the iron coat, how much more the hen with a feathery gown. These dare devil criminals, be they bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers, or terrorists, would be jelly-fished fellows without the arms they wield.
Put differently, if we are able to control the influx of arms, more than half of the problem would have been solved. Arms and ammunition are the oxygen of violence and.; war.
So, the question is : how is it that these arms—light or sophisticated, find their ways into Nigeria without stress or hitch?
It is easy to talk about porous borders. It is even easier to talk about illegal routes. But hey, where are the immigration personnel that are supposed to man the borders? How come they allow, knowingly or out of negligence, these caché of arms into the country, whilst yet claiming to be on duty?
It beggars belief to claim that these avalanche of arms being used to wreak havoc in the country are either all local weapons or all smuggled in through illegal routes.
Is it therefore safe to believe that these immigration personnel are conniving with these terror agents to flood the nation with arms?
Not long ago, there was a story about bandits using camels to ferry arms into the country, as they strap arms on the body of these camels, covering the arms up with other harmless luggage. But despite this intelligence report, we have never been told of any arrest of arms-laden camels in the country.
In May 2017, the Nigerian Customs intercepted a 20-feet container at the Lagos port, loaded with 440 arms and ammunition of different sizes and caliber.
Four months later, in September of the same year, another 1,100 pump action guns concealed in container from Turkey was intercepted at Mile 2, Lagos. That particular consignment had negotiated its way out of the ports, but still got caught on its way to a warehouse. Four years down the line, Nigerians were never told who the importers of those arms are, neither do they know what eventually happened to those arms or their importers. Were they (importers) ever arrested and prosecuted? Were the arms destroyed? Were they added into the armoury of the Nigerian military? Were they released to their importers?
Many a times, it is argued that the announcement of such interception of arms get to the public’s ears only when there is a failure in “settlement” between the importers and Customs personnel.
Yes, the argument has been rife about Nigeria becoming the preferred destination of all the arms and light weapons from Libya, DRC and Sudan, where wars have been fought or still being fought. But it is worrisome that despite the fortification of the land borders, illegal arms and ammunition still flow into the country unhindered, thus putting a big and multiple question marks on the efficiency and patriotism of the men and women in the Nigerian Immigration Service whose duty it is to police our borders.
And that explains why today, AK47, a high caliber rifle, is now such a common weaponry in the country, as if it is a kitchen knife or even catapult. Just everywhere, you hear and see AK 47.
Otherwise young and feeble fellows get lionized and can take a whole community captive, just because they have arms, most times even more sophisticated than the ones of our policemen.
Even when there is a presidential directive criminalizing bearing it by unauthorized persons, nobody has ever been shot at because he/she is bearing AK 47, despite the presidential order to that effect. So, is there a conspiracy to protect such persons?
Already, the Akwa-Ibom State governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, in a video that went viral, this week, has lamented how the police commissioner in the state has ordered the release of 18 AK47-bearing persons arrested by vigilante men in the state. The 18 persons were said to have fake army uniforms and the rifles, yet the police ordered that they be released. How is this explained?
Little wonder that former Head of State, Gen Abdusalami Abubakar recently disclosed that about six million illegal arms are floating in Nigeria. How did those arms get into Nigeria?
Stories have been making the rounds of how certain helicopters have been dropping arms, ammunition and even food items in some forests, for bandits and other violent criminals. Nobody has been able to assuredly verify the claims. But it may not be impossible. Although denied, a former Head of State has also been linked to the ownership of one of such helicopters.
Just last Sunday, people going to church ran into a truck which fell in Onitsha and spilled all of its content on the road. The content happened to be live bullets. Reports say it took a hired tipper three trips before it could clear the bullets off the road, amidst guided protection by the army and the police..
Again, who owns the bullets? Where were they taking them to? And for what purpose? The Anambra governorship election is just six months away. The driver of the truck was arrested while the conductor escaped.
Nearly one week after, the public has not been updated on the matter.
Yet, this is a zone where violence and attack on police stations and correctional facilities have continued unabated. Is it any wonder that the rave of attacks in the South East has continued unchecked?
Obviously, it is an attempt to arrest the ugly development that the federal government recently established the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW).
It is hoped that this agency will be able to not only halt the influx of illegal arms into the country, but also work assiduously hard to recover most of the illegal arms in the country.
Needless to say that the large caché of arms in the hands of unauthorized persons is a precursor to war. Those who doubt this should ask Somalia and Sudan. Many people like Prof Pat Utomi believe that another civil war has already started in the country, what with the scale of killings and violence ravaging every part of the country.
To save the nation from the imminent unrest and conflagration, the NCCSALW should get cracking by raking in most of the illegal arms in circulation. Unless and until that is done, our skies will continue to be lit with the sparks of illegal bullets as we sleep with just an eye closed.