Illicit Arms: Ribadu backs fresh national survey, says 2016 data outdated

ABUJA — The National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, has identified the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons as a major driver of insecurity, banditry, terrorism and communal violence in Nigeria. Ribadu stated this on Thursday in Abuja at a workshop on lessons learnt from Nigeria’s 2016 National Baseline Survey on Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons. The workshop was organised by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).

Represented by the Director of External Affairs in the Office of the NSA, Mr Solomon Feyintola, Ribadu said illicit weapons were sustaining violent criminal activities across different parts of the country. He said the weapons were fuelling banditry in the North-West, communal and farmer-herder conflicts in the North-Central, while also strengthening criminal networks and the operational capacity of terrorist and insurgent groups in the North-East. “The proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons is not an abstract policy concern.

It is a deadly threat to the safety of our people. “Behind every statistic on illicit weapons is a community that has lost its peace, a family that has lost a loved one or a livelihood that has been destroyed,” he said. The NSA stressed that Nigeria’s response to the challenge must be anchored on credible and up-to-date data rather than estimates.

He recalled that the 2016 National Baseline Survey provided important information on the scale and nature of illicit weapons proliferation and contributed to the formulation of national policies, including the establishment of the NCCSALW and the development of a National Action Plan. Ribadu, however, said the country needed to conduct an honest assessment of the previous exercise before embarking on a new survey. “Before we launch into the next National Baseline Survey, we owe ourselves the discipline of an honest review.

And what must be done differently this time?” he asked. According to him, a credible baseline would strengthen national efforts to combat illicit arms proliferation, improve counter-proliferation and disarmament strategies, and enhance the ability of security agencies to track the movement of illegal weapons within the country and across its borders. By Kingsley Omonobi ABUJA — National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has backed plans for a new National Baseline Survey on illicit small arms and light weapons, saying Nigeria must replace outdated data and address methodological and coordination gaps identified from the 2016 exercise.

Ribadu said the proposed survey was necessary to provide credible evidence on the scale, distribution and movement of illicit weapons across the country and strengthen government’s response to the security challenges associated with their proliferation. He spoke through the Director of External Affairs in the Office of the NSA, Mr Solomon Feyintola, at a workshop on Lessons Learnt from Nigeria’s 2016 National Baseline Survey on Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons. The workshop was organised to review the outcome and shortcomings of the 2016 survey ahead of a new national exercise.