NCCSALW To Destroy 30,132 Illicit Arms, Ammunition
The National Center for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) has announced plans to destroy 30,132 recovered decommissioned, unserviceable, and illicit arms and ammunition.
The National Coordinator of NCCSALW, DIG Johnson Kokumo (retd.), revealed this on Tuesday during a workshop on gender mainstreaming in preventing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria and West Africa.
Kokumo gave a breakdown of the figure to include a total of 3,383 arms while 26,749 are various calibres of ammunition, some of which come from the Nigerian Army, Police, and other sources.
He noted that the recovered weapon would be destroyed by the end of September.
He said, “In addition to the above, the National Centre has retrieved a total of 3,383 decommissioned, unserviceable, obsolete and illicit small arms and light weapons and 26,749 various calibres of ammunition from the following arms bearing agencies of government; the Defence Headquarters, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force and the Nigeria Police Force.
“Others include the Defence Intelligence Agency, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the Nigerian Security & Civil Defence Corps and the Nigeria Customs Service, amongst others. Later in this quarter, NCCSALW would be conducting an Arms Destruction Exercise which is a critical step in ensuring that recovered arms are permanently removed from circulation.”
Kokumo noted that the illegal flow of small arms and light weapons had devastating consequences, and the control of small arms and light weapons proliferation is not only a national concern but also a matter of international importance.
He said, “Gender mainstreaming in Small Arms and Light Weapons control is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic move, as the grave impact of armed conflict on women and children highlights the need for a gender-sensitive approach to disarmament and security policies.”
Also speaking, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu said the president’s assent to the bill establishing the National Center for the Control of small arms and light weapons, strengthened the centre’s mandate, paving the way for more coordinated and decisive action.
