Against the backdrop of frightening security challenges across the country, it has been discovered that a total of 21,548,608 arms and ammunition were smuggled into Nigeria at the close of 2017.

Sunday Tribune investigations showed that the figure did not include the number of such arms recovered under the existing operation mop-up of illegal arms and ammunition by the police.

A state-by-state report also revealed concerted efforts by law enforcement agencies to clamp down on illegal arms, which were often deployed during violent clashes in parts of the country.

A United Nations report indicated that as of 2010, more than 70 per cent of the 500 million of the illegal small arms and light weapons (SALW) in the West African sub-Region are in Nigeria.

Director of United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, UNREC, Ms Olatokunbo Ige, who gave the shocking figure, said such arms were in unauthorised hands of non-state actors threatening the existence of the country, as well as lives and properties of the people.

Investigations by our correspondents revealed that the 21 million arms were smuggled into the country within seven years, with indications that the deluge was usually at the dawn of major general election in the country.

For instance, as horse-trading reached fever pitch in 2014 ahead the 2015 elections, a total of 1,142 live cartridges of 12 grammes were seized at the Murtala Mohammed Airport Customs command in Lagos, on February 26, 2014, while 30,000 live cartridges of 7.2mm were intercepted at Saki, Oyo State, on March 11, 2014.

On June 18, 2014, 120 jack knives were seized in Sokoto State, while one Remington pistol and 20 cartridges intercepted at the Murtala Mohammed Airport Customs command in Lagos on December 24, 2014.

In 2017, a total of 150 live round of 9mm bullets were seized at the Lagos Airport on February 10, 2017, while 661 pump action guns were intercepted along Mile 2 axis of the Apapa-Oshodi highway on January 30, 2017.

In May 2017, 440 pump action guns were seized at Tin-Can ports in September , just a haul of 1,100 pump action guns were intercepted at same port in Lagos.

Lately, the country has been battling with serious security challenges evident in the spate of violent killings involving herdsmen, rival cult groups, as well as kidnapping and abduction in parts of the country.

This is aside from the battle against the terrorist group, Boko Haram that has resorted to suicide bombing in states in the North-East.

Data obtained buy Sunday Tribune from the headquarters of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) revealed that the largest cache of ammunition of 21,407,933 live ammunition was intercepted at the Apapa Port in November 2010, while 1,100 pump action guns were seized at Tin-Can port in September of 2017.

According to a breakdown of arms and ammunition seized at entry points of the country, in chronological order, and obtained by Sunday Tribune, one AK-47 was seized at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) on January 20, 2010.

In May, 2017, another 440 Pump Action guns were seized at Tin-Can ports; and in September of 2017, another haul of 1,100 pump action guns was seized at same Tin-Can ports in Lagos.

Contacted by Sunday Tribune on the challenges faced by the Customs in intercepting arms and ammunition at the seaports and border points, national spokesman of the Customs Service, Joseph Attah, identified low compliance level on the part of importers as the major obstacle.

“A major challenge in enforcing the law is due to lack of compliance on the part of importers.

Nobody brings in dangerous consignments, and declares that the container contains arms and ammunition. It is through rigorous examination by Customs operatives that these dangerous consignments are exposed. People like to bring in prohibited consignments and then make false declarations.

“Also, lack of equipment that can help discover this dangerous consignments put pressure on Customs.

This has made the Customs to go the extra mile in intercepting dangerous cargoes. That is why we have adopted 100 per cent examination at the ports, even though it is time consuming and very stressful.

“In the absence of equipment to discover these illegal arms and ammunition imports, we are increasingly relying on intelligence to nip the dangerous imports in the bud.

“At our land borders, the porosity of the borders is another challenge, especially in the dry season; everywhere is a road for the smugglers,” he explained.

Bayelsa:
In Bayelsa State, the Police Command and other security agencies have stepped up efforts to mop up arms in illegal hands, just as it has made arrests.

The state police boss, Amba Asuquo, told our correspondent that no fewer than 1,500 arms were in circulation in the upland and coastal communities of the state.

He alluded that through the mop up operations in the coastal communities, the quantity of illegal arms recovered between November and January alone stood at 800 through the efforts of policemen, but that the command was not resting on its oars to ensure criminals were dispossessed of the left over small and light ammunition with which they have continued to terrorise law-abiding citizens.

The Command said it had adopted the operation search-the-dark spots in the state, where criminal elements use as hideouts after committing heinous crimes.

Taraba:
Lack of intelligence mars illegal arms mop up in Taraba
The Taraba State Police Command said inadequate intelligence was stalling efforts by the command to rid the state of illegal arms and ammunition in private hands.

Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP David Misal, disclosed this to our correspondent in Jalingo.

Misal said that the command was aware of proliferation of small arms and ammunition in the state and was working hard to mop up those that are still in people’s hands in a bid to curtail criminal activities.

Misal disclosed that several rifles, pistols, both locally made and sophisticated ones, and other assorted arms and ammunition have been recovered so far but the command was determined to rid the state of the menace completely by all means.

Oyo:
Despite the use of lethal weapons during occasional clashes between rival groups in parts of Oyo State lately, going by the declaration of Oyo State Police Command, the volume of arms in circulation should be a source of worry to both the government and members of the public.

This was stated by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Adekunle Ajisebutu in a statement made available to Sunday Tribune.

The state police command said though it had been checking crises across the state, it could not determine the amount of arms and ammunition in the state.

It also stated that the police was currently experiencing lack of information, making it difficult for the command to pursue to the letter some of crimes being perpetrated within the command’s jurisdiction.
He, however, stated that the Commissioner of Police, Ayodeji Odude, was on top of the situation.

Ajisebutu stated that, “we cannot determine the volume of arms in circulation. No fewer than 71 arms and 422 ammunition have so far been recovered from January 2017 till date.”

Edo:
Last year, security operatives recovered a huge arms and ammunition from some suspects in connection with some heinous crimes.

The items recovered from the suspects included 33 cut-to-size guns, 90 live Ak47 ammunition, 234 car-tridges, five AK47 guns, short guns, charms and other dangerous items.

Lagos:
Contacted on the issue of illegal arms, the spokesman of the state Police Command, Chike Oti, confirmed that a large quantity of arms and ammunition had been recovered since the assumption of office by the commissioner
However, he said that he could not give the statistics of the recovered arms because the Command had always furnished the press with information on recovered arms and ammunition, as well as paraded suspected bandits.
A media report late last year claimed that government audit finding said at least 44 assorted arms, belonging to the police, could not be accounted for between 2013 and 2015.

The report, released in two parts between December 2016 and May 2017 by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, empowered by the constitution to examine records of accounts and stores of the country’s public bodies, alleged that arms as well as rounds of ammunition entrusted to police personnel were said to have been “snatched,” “missing” or “lost.”

The report said at Umuagwu Police Division, Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, assault rifles with 28 rounds of 5.56 mm calibre ammunition were reported “lost” by one Police Inspector, while on duty on February 5, 2015.
Also in Imo, Umuagwo, Ohaji Local Government Area, “five arms (three AK-47 and two AR rifles) recorded in arms/ammunition Returns of September 19, 2013 could neither be traced in the latest handover note of the armourer and the Division Police Officer of April 7, 2014 and August 31 2015, respectively, nor sighted physically at the time of the audit inspection on October 14, 2015.

According to the report, “the Arms Movement Register could not account for these arms and no document of any sort was presented to the audit team.”

Arms recovery in Bauchi
In Bauchi, the state Police Command recovered and mopped up several arms and ammunition last year in its efforts to rid the state of crimes and criminals.

According to the PPRO, DSP Kamal Datti Abubakar, the command recovered from criminals 11AK 47 rifles, 1 AK 49 rifle, 1 G3 rifle, 1 lar rifle and 5 fabricated guns as well as 1 machine gun rifle.

He added that five double barrel guns, three locally made pistols, four pump action guns, one fabricated toy gun, eight single barrel guns and three AK 47 magazines with five pistol Beretta were also recovered from the criminals at various locations within the state.

The PPRO further disclosed that 18 dane guns, 12 knives, 111 arrows,14 cutlasses, 7 Bows, 748 rounds of live ammunition of 7.62mm, 16 rounds of assaulted ammunition, 98 live cartridges, 7 quivers and 1 bow and arrow with 19 sticks with recovered during the period under review.

Kamal Datti Abubakar said no significant challenges were encountered nor was there any casualty from the police side during the operations which he said were carried out successfully.

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21 million guns, ammo smuggled into Nigeria —Investigation