Nigeria’s security is being heavily compromised by illegally acquired guns. A concrete indication is found in a fresh warning by the United Nations about the danger of the influx of small and light weapons into West Africa. At a conference in Abuja, the UN noted that arms worth $35 million were entering the sub-region annually. This red flag has been there for a long time, but official laxity ensures that it had not been attended to. It ought to be taken seriously by the security agencies.
The UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, which organised the conference, estimates that seven to 10 million SALW flood West Africa annually. Alarmingly, Nigeria is the major destination of the weapons. In all, the global body says that of the 500 million weapons in West Africa, Nigeria alone accommodates 70 per cent of them. The assertion gains currency in the high level of kidnapping, armed robbery and communal conflicts plaguing the country.
The conference noted that non-state actors like Boko Haram extremists, militias, mercenaries and vigilantes were the main beneficiaries of the weapons. “Nigeria is one of the countries experiencing some of the most devastating effects of the proliferation of SALW as a result of the spill-over effect of the recent crises in Libya and Mali, as well as unresolved internal conflicts in different parts of the country, especially in the North-East, Niger Delta and Southern regions,” it said. In the mix are Fulani herdsmen, who bear deadly assault weapons and wreak havoc on the country.
Despite the dangers associated with weapons, the Nigerian government has failed to act. In the first nine months of this year, Nigeria Customs Service officials seized four containers in separate interception operations, bearing illegally imported arms in Lagos. In January, Customs seized 661 pump action rifles; 440 pieces in May; and two separate containers of 1,100 and 475 pieces in September. The judiciary should conclude the trials of the importers speedily.
Apart from those intercepted, many of the SALW easily flood the country through the porous borders. Arms smugglers invade the country with their deadly contraband, exploiting the numerous unmanned routes. The few security personnel are overwhelmed. This negligence is defined by the fact that Nigeria has only 84 approved border control posts, but arms syndicates, smugglers and terrorists operate through 1,400 unmanned and illegal routes, according to a former Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, David Parradang.
Yet, policing or securing the borders is government’s primary responsibility. The Pew Research Centre, an American think tank, estimates that because of stricter border enforcement, illegal net migration between Mexico and the United States declined from one million to 870,000 between 2009 and 2014. The US Border Patrol arrested 364,000 Mexicans illegally entering into the US in 2012, employing different strategies. In contrast, Nigeria’s border with the neighbouring Republic of Benin serves as a major route for the illegal importation of arms into Nigeria. The Muhammadu Buhari administration should first reform and then empower the NIS, Customs and the security forces with equipment, technology and personnel for border enforcement.
However, the local production of weapons also accounts for the proliferation. In a 2015 report, the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons stated that 60 per cent of the illegal arms in the South-East region were fabricated locally. Why the government has not traced the fabrication centres and shut down their operations is baffling.
With the deficit of good governance, illegal weapons in the hands of criminal gangs are fuelling violence. Early this month, a suspect confessed that he bought an AK 47 rifle for N470,000. He had killed two of his siblings through accidental discharge while learning to use the equipment, say the police.
Therefore, without taking away guns from criminals, security breaches will persist. Japan is one of the safest countries principally because virtually nobody owns a gun there. Since 1685, the Japanese society has been accustomed to living without guns. Before a gun licence is issued, citizens have to go through various written, oral and mental examinations. A spent cartridge can only be replaced on the presentation of the expended one. Handguns are banned outright. There were zero gun deaths in Japan in 2013. In 2014, there were six gun deaths and only six shots were fired by the police there throughout 2015. In contrast, there were 33,599 gun deaths in the US in 2014, a result testifying to the liberalisation of gun ownership in the country.
Without guns, there can hardly be violence. In 2014, the United Kingdom upgraded its forensic test centre that analyses shootings within 48 hours. It also deals with the source of supply. Tough jail terms await those who own illegal guns. In November 2006, three men were given long prison terms for smuggling 274 replica guns from Germany into the UK.
Therefore, government must make it difficult to obtain guns. Those who acquire guns illegally, especially politicians who arm thugs for election purposes, should be severely punished. Following the Dunblane massacre in 1996, when Thomas Hamilton killed 16 schoolchildren and their teacher, many guns were deactivated in the UK. Here, the inattentiveness of the government to the problem is mystifying. To reverse the trend of security breaches, illegal arms importers have to be prosecuted, particularly those that were intercepted this year.
Also, the intercepted arms have to be accounted for. Police claim they destroy such contraband, but the public wants it done in the open, as is the case in Kenya. The government should collaborate with our neighbours to block the source of supply, and deploy technology to trace those acquiring weapons online. The haphazard weapons amnesty for criminals cannot solve the problem. Criminals are not likely to submit all their weapons or are likely to acquire new arms after they have been paid off. Therefore, the government has to institutionalise a systematic programme to mop up arms and define a national amnesty programme.
