Nigeria is strengthening its efforts to combat the proliferation of illegal firearms. The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) has announced the destruction of 1,419 weapons and the recovery of 5,449 others during various operations conducted across the national territory.
According to its Director General, retired Police Commissioner General Johnson Kokumo, 1,419 weapons were publicly destroyed on July 30 in Abuja, as part of the Centre’s second quarterly exercise. Since 2022, the number of illicit weapons destroyed by the NCCSALW has now exceeded 19,000.
The objective is to prevent seized weapons from being reintroduced into criminal networks.
In addition, security forces have made significant seizures. In June, the Nigerian police transferred 5,050 illicit, unserviceable, or obsolete automatic weapons to the Centre.
Customs also handed over 399 JOJEF-type automatic rifles intercepted during an operation. Other weapons were recovered from anti-narcotics and intelligence services.
Authorities have also announced the arrest of 11 individuals suspected of involvement in the clandestine importation of 844 automatic weapons and 112,500 rounds of ammunition. The equipment had been concealed in a container intercepted at Onne Port.
At the same time, the NCCSALW aims to strengthen the security of legally held weapons by public services, notably through training for personnel responsible for their storage and management.
A new national survey on small arms and light weapons is also being prepared. It will update data collected in 2016 and enable authorities to better tailor their policies against arms trafficking and armed crime.
