President Bola Tinubu has officially approved the Bill establishing the National Center for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), a significant move aimed at curbing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria.
National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu revealed this development on Tuesday during a workshop on gender mainstreaming in the fight against small arms and light weapons in Nigeria and West Africa. The workshop aimed to tackle a critical issue for Nigeria’s national security.
Represented by the Director of External Affairs at the Office of the NSA, Ambassador Ibrahim Babani, Ribadu emphasized the workshop’s importance. “The President’s assent to the bill is a major milestone in the government’s commitment to curbing the proliferation of illegal arms,” he stated. “This legislative backing strengthens the center’s mandate and paves the way for more coordinated and decisive action.”
Ribadu highlighted the need for integrating gender perspectives into the prevention of small arms and light weapons proliferation. He praised the National Coordinator and the entire team at NCCSALW for their dedication to organizing the workshop, acknowledging their efforts as “invaluable” in addressing the issue.
The NSA noted that the workshop was anchored on key international frameworks, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. “The resolution emphasizes the critical need to protect women from the impacts of conflict while also ensuring their full participation in peacebuilding and security initiatives,” Ribadu said.
He also referenced the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, which stresses the collective regional responsibility to prevent the spread of these dangerous weapons.
“The importance of gender mainstreaming in preventing the proliferation of SALW cannot be overstated,” Ribadu added. “It strengthens our strategies and ensures that our approach to security is inclusive and sustainable.”
DIG Johnson Kokumo (Rtd), the National Coordinator of NCCSALW, outlined recent successes in combating illegal arms proliferation. He reported that on July 1, the center, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service, seized a substantial cache of illegal arms and arrested ten suspects involved in illicit importation.
Kokumo noted that the suspects are currently being prosecuted by NCCSALW for illegal importation into Nigeria, which includes 544 prohibited firearms and 112,500 rounds of cartridges, in violation of Section 3 (6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, among other offences. “This underscores the center’s commitment to not only intercepting arms but also ensuring that those responsible face the full weight of the law,” he said.
Additionally, Kokumo reported that the center has retrieved a total of 3,383 decommissioned, unserviceable, obsolete, and illicit small arms and light weapons, along with 26,749 rounds of various calibers of ammunition from arms-bearing government agencies.
He announced that the NCCSALW will conduct an Arms Destruction Exercise later this quarter, a crucial step in permanently removing recovered arms from circulation.
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Kokumo emphasized that the proliferation of small arms and light weapons is not only a national concern but also an international issue. He pointed out that the illegal flow of these weapons has devastating effects, fueling violence, instability, and insecurity worldwide.
He concluded that gender mainstreaming in SALW control is both a moral imperative and a strategic move, highlighting the need for a gender-sensitive approach to disarmament and security policies.
