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With more than one million illegal arms in circulation, Nigeria is like a nation sitting on a keg gunpowder. But more worrisome is the danger it poses for the 2015 general elections

|  By Olu Ojewale  |  Jul. 29, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT

THE figure looks scary: there are about two million guns held by civilians in Nigeria. Half of them are held illegally by criminals and those who could not bother with the rigour of registration. According to GunPolicy.org, the figure puts the country in the 34^th position out of 178 countries with the problem of illegal arms proliferation. As far back as 2008, Business World Intelligence, an online publication, reported that there were about nine to 12 million arms and ammunition in circulation in the Niger Delta. Reports say less than one tenth of those arms have so far been surrendered despite the amnesty and disarmament. Now with the advent of Boko Haram insurgency and campaign of terror in some parts of the North, weapons proliferation are said to have now surpassed what was experienced in the Niger Delta.

This, has understandably, raised a lot of worries within government circles and among concerned Nigerians who call on the security personnel to do more in order to reduce the volume of arms being brought to the country through porous borders and with alleged connivance of corrupt security personnel. A vast number of the arms are believed to be in the hands of robbers, kidnappers and social miscreants who can be engaged for political vendetta. This, has thus, raised genuine fear that the next general election in 2015, may be too dangerous for the country.

Such fears cannot be regarded as unfounded. On Thursday, July 11, a joint patrol by the army and the State Security Service, SSS, in Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State, impounded a petrol tanker loaded with arms and ammunitions. Found in the fuel compartment of the oil tanker were three AK 47 Rifles, one RPG-2, nine AK 47 magazines, two bombs, three RPG chargers and 790 rounds of 7.62mm of special ammunitions. “The arrest and confiscation of arms was sequel to the on-going operations of the 1 Battalion of the Nigerian Army with headquarters in Sokoto, against insurgency and insurgent activities within its area of responsibilities,” Sunday Ilori, a lieutenant colonel and the commanding officer said. Two suspects escaped when the vehicle was intercepted.

On interrogation, the suspect that was arrested claimed that he was paid N500,000 to deliver the arms to Sokoto and that the owners had threatened to kill his family if he failed to cooperate.

Prior to the Birnin-Kebbi discovery, the special unit of the Imo State Police Command, “Police Ambush Squad,” uncovered a firearms depot at Udume Ogwa in Mbaitoli Local Government Area, Imo State, on July 3. Two brothers namely, Okechukwu and Donatus, were arrested at the depot during alleged negotiations to sell a pump action rifle to a prospective buyer.

Mohammed Katsina, state police commissioner, said Donatus had brought in the weapons illegally from Turkey and that though they were initially licensed but that the licence was revoked in 1982. “It was through information that the Police Ambush Squad received that made them to storm his house and recover over 13 pump action rifles; other assorted rifles seven hundred and fifty (750) live cartridges; One carton of security torch lights and a bullet proof jacket with the inscription, ‘Nigeria Police’ and bearing the initials of the Imo State Police Commissioner,” Katsina said.

The weapons were actually in Lagos, but the action pump rifle was recovered at the suspects’ house in Imo State. Police had laid an ambush for Okechukwu, younger brother of Donatus, when he was discovered to be selling arms and ammunition to kidnappers in Imo State. Donatus was also arrested when it was revealed that he brought in the illegal arms and ammunition as a hand luggage from Turkey three years ago. “I brought the arms and ammunition from Turkey as a hand luggage. I have the licence but since 1982 and I know that the Federal Government has embargoed the arms and ammunition. I kept these arms and ammunition in my house where my younger brother, Okechukwu, stole some o and started selling them in Imo State,” he said.

Corroborating his brother’s allegation, Okechukwu said he lived in Imo State and that he went to Lagos State to steal the ammunition and started selling each pump action rifle at N250,000. “Some gang in Imo State have been buying the arms and ammunition from me, my elder brother, Donatus, brought them from Turkey to Nigeria,” he said.

Katsina said in the history of Imo State, the police had never recovered such number of illegal arms and ammunition. “The command has reconstituted illegal arms mopping squad to deal with the high level of arms proliferation in the state,” the police boss said. It was the turn of members of the Joint Task Force, JTF, Operation Restore Order II, to make its own discoveries in Maiduguri, the beleaguered Borno State capital that has recently become the engine-room of the Boko Haram insurgency. The JTF found mass graves, tunnels and a bunker with a cache of arms at Bulabulin Nganaram, Maiduguri, Borno State capital.

According to Sagir Musa, a lieutenant colonel and spokesman of the JTF, the bunker was dug behind a two-bedroom apartment, which gave a false impression that it was a sewage pit, whereas it contained a cache of weapons. There were also tunnels, which served as passage for the insurgents from their hideouts. A statement by Musa said: “The Joint Task Force (JTF) between July 3 and 8, 2013, dislodged Boko Haram terrorists from their main enclave in Bulabulin Nganaram, Aljajeri and Faluja areas of Maiduguri metropolis… During the search of the areas, many arms and ammunition of various calibres buried in houses and cemeteries were recovered. Decomposing corpses of those killed by the terrorists were also found in soak-away and mass graves of terrorists killed. Troops also discovered vast network mouse-holes linking compounds and underground tunnels as well as bunkers under houses. Troops are still searching the area for more weapons, ammunition and mass graves.”

The expanded works of the JTF in the north since the start of the Boko Haram insurgents led it to a house in Kano on Wednesday, May 28. During a raid on a house occupied by a Lebanese at No 3, Gaya Road, Bompai area of the ancient city, the JTF found large quantities of guns, bombs, hand grenades, anti-aircraft weapons and unspecified number of ammunitions kept in an underground armoury. Iliyasu Abba, a brigadier general and commandant of the 3 Motorised Division of Nigeria Army, Kano, disclosed the recovery of weapons of mass destruction, which included 11, 50mm anti-tank weapons, two 122mm artillery gun ammunition, four anti-tank landmines, 21 rocket-propelled grenades, RPG, 16 rocket-propelled grenades charger, one rocket-propelled grenade tube and 76 military grenade. Others were one Sub-machine gun, nine pistols, 17 AK-47 rifles, 44 magazines, 11,433 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and 103 packet of slap TNT.

Security personnel said the weapons were hidden inside a massive underground store, constructed under the floor of the bungalow’s living room, with an entrance that was concealed inside a wardrobe compartment.

Barely a week after the discovery, security men again discovered another cache of arms in the same compound in Kano. According to a statement signed by Ikedichi Iweha, a army captain and spokesman of the JTF in the state, a further search on the bungalow led to another discovery of dangerous weapons buried under a wardrobe. “After a painstaking search of the whole premises, the search team uncovered a bunker in the master bedroom where a large quantity of assorted weapons of different types and caliber and ammunition which were properly wrapped was recovered,” Iweha said.

The weapons, hidden in a portable cooler which was kept under the wardrobe, had in it, 80 indicators, five PPK pistols, 334 rounds of 7.62mm special, nine magazines, four pistol silencers, 1836 hand grenade caps, four explosive fuses and two explosive devices. The arms were said to have been brought in by the Lebanese who have a connection with Hezbollah, an Islamic anti-Israeli group which is based in southern Lebanon.

It was the largest weapons to have been discovered in Kano since the Boko Haram insurgents first attacked the city in January last year. There had been several other seizures of weapons in some parts of Kano over the past one and a half years, but none has rivalled that of Bompai.

But it appears that Nigerians do not depend on importation alone to get arms into the country. In May this year, police detectives from Anambra and Delta states uncovered arms factories in three communities in Alizomor in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.

This was just after residents of the community had fled following the discovery of the corpse of Nwike Chidi, former deputy governor of Anambra State, in the area. Lucky Uyabeme, an assistant superintendent of police and police spokesman, said the factories were discovered when detectives stormed the community in search of Chidi who had been adopted by kidnappers. The body of Chidi was identified among the three corpses dumped at the entrance of Alizomor village.

However, one of the weapon factories was allegedly owned by a 55-year-old dismissed teacher. The operator, whose name was not given, allegedly supplied sophisticated arms to kidnappers and armed robbers. The police detectives also uncovered arms in three other weapon factories in the same local government area. Uyabeme said that on sighting police officers, the operator of one of the factories fled into the bush, leaving behind his wife and a daughter. Some of the weapons recovered from the factory included, a Russian pump action rifle, an unspecified number of double barrel gun, 8,259 packets of cartridges and 260 laptops.

Indeed, the problem of proliferation of small arms has become a serious issue. To help tackle the problem, President Goodluck Jonathan set up a committee on small arms and light weapons to help government proffer solutions. The committee which was inaugurated on April 24, would work closely with all existing anti-armament bodies to stem the tide of violence in the country and across the continent.  Jonathan said the committee was “meant to provide government with necessary advice to mitigate the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.” The clarification became necessary so that there would be no clash of interest.

The president added: “We said so because there are departments of government responsible for this.  But for these departments of governments to succeed, they must be supported with proper advice and international linkages.” The 17-man committee, headed by Emmanuel Imohe, an ambassador, was not given a time frame to work or submit its report. However, the president emphasised the importance of the committee. “The establishment of this committee re-affirms the readiness and commitment of this administration to bring the state of violence and insecurity we have witnessed to an end,” the president said, adding: “Without the free flow of small arms and light weapons leading the war against drug trafficking would have been easier for states. So, we use this opportunity to urge the United Nations to again come out with comprehensive approach to the control of small arms and light weapons.”

Imohe, in his response, said his committee members would work in line with coherent, legal and policy guidelines, including the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the AU Bamako Declaration as well as the UN Programme for Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons. “I want to say that there is, indeed, a connection between easy access to weapons and the problems of insecurity in the countries of Africa. And the reality today is that the ready deployment of these weapons is threatening non-state actors and also reinforcing criminal networks. As a result, small arms and light weapons now constitute perhaps, the biggest threat to peace and security and by extension to development in so many countries in our sub-region,” Imohe said.

The committee has since started its work. Hosting the National Task Force on Small Arms, Ammunitions and Light Weapons in Lagos on June 5, Eugene Nweke, chairman of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, said that 65 per cent of the arms and ammunitions imported into Nigeria entered through the waterways. Nweke, therefore, enjoined the  Importers Association of Nigeria, IMAN, the mother group to the task force, to synergise with the Nigeria Navy to ensure that importation of arms was reduced to the barest minimum.

He also appealed to the IMAN to embark on information and intelligence gathering to curb importation of illicit items into the country and pledged the cooperation of his association to tackle the problem in the interest of the nation.

Friday Imoko, a retired colonel and director of the Lagos command of the National Taskforce on Small Arms, Ammunitions and Light Weapons, said that the meeting with NAGAFF was geared towards addressing the security challenges in the country. Imoko said that the alarming rate at which arms were imported into the country enhanced the sustenance of terrorism in the country, adding that with the support of all relevant stakeholders in the industry, it would minimise illegal importation of arms. Even despite the amnesty in the Niger Delta, there seems to be still a large number of arms in the area. The inter-agency task force set up by federal government to mop up arms in the area is still busy working. By March, this year, Adebayor Olaniyi, a general and general officer commanding the 82 Division, Nigerian Army, said the military had recovered 39,880 assorted arms and ammunitions from former militants in the Niger Delta. The inter-agency taskforce set up by the federal government handed over the arms and ammunition to the Nigerian Army Command. A breakdown of the arms handed over at the Division’s parade ground included 482 automatic arms, 20,132 ammunitions, 295 magazines and 18,971 locally made guns. Olaniyi who received the large arms from the taskforce, said it was part of the government’s amnesty programme which started in 2009.

A number of people have fingered Nigerian politicians for the creation of militant groups in the Niger Delta. They were said to have armed unemployed youths whom they used for elections and after elections when they could not find them jobs, the youths started using the arms for militancy and other crimes. The same foundation was said to have been laid for the creation of the Boko Haram sect by northern politicians. But it appears that some leaders have not learnt from the Niger Delta and the Boko Haram experiences.

On July 4, Basheer Mohammed called the attention of his colleagues to the plan of Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, to arm a local militia in order to assist the police in fighting crimes in the state. The motion prayed the Senate to urge President Jonathan “to prevail on Yari to rescind his decision to arm vigilante groups in the state with rifles.” Mohammed expressed his concern over the security challenges in Zamfara State, saying, “The easy access to arms by groups that are neither trained nor authorised to bear arms is partly responsible for the security challenges experienced in many parts of the country, including Zamfara State.”

As the debate raged on, it was clear that the governor had, indeed, imported the arms and ammunitions into the country. This was disclosed by Sha’aba Lafiagi, a senator and the vice-chairman of the Senate committee on Intelligence and National Security, who said: “The truth is that the governor has acquired the arms and ammunition; he now approached the IG (inspector general of police) to grant him permission. Why is it so easy for anybody to acquire arms without any hindrance? We have to do all we can to put a stop to illegal acquisition of arms.”

Although the Senate did not appear to be scandalised by that disclosure, what jolted the senators was the allegation of Ali Ndume, a senator from Borno State, who was once fingered as a financier of the dreaded Boko Haram group. While opposing the motion, Ndume argued that armed criminals easily assailed Nigerians because they did not have guns. According to him, with arms, curtailing the activities of criminals can be easier. “And let me ask this question: Mr. President, why is it that almost half of us here own guns?”

The question quickly drew the intervention of Ike Ekweremadu, deputy Senate president, who presided over the sitting. He asked Ndume to retract his statement because he could not substantiate his insinuation as he had not conducted a search on the residences of all the senators to be certain of his claim. In his attempt to retract the statement, Ndume said he was not portraying the senators as indiscriminately possessing arms, but was rather emphasising that focus should centre only on those who possessed arms for harmful purposes rather than those who kept arms for self-defence or for hunting. After the intensive debate on the motion, the Senate rejected the request but called on the president “to deploy more security personnel to Zamfara and other states with similar security challenges.”

But security challenges in the North seem to be more complex than what is known. Some border towns particularly in the North East are said to be a fertile ground for trafficking of arms and centres for stolen goods, drugs terrorists and their collaborators. For instance, from Damaturu/Maiduguri, Yobe and Borno states, axis to Cameroon, Chad or Niger, there are more than 250 footpaths, which make the work of security personnel in the areas very tedious. Reports said that the Nigerian Immigration Service recently, discovered hundreds of illegal routes in Nigeria leading to some neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger with links to Mali, Libya and Sudan.

The easy access has made it possible for the Libyan and Malian rebels who are desperate to exchange arms for cash, to connect with Boko Haram terrorists, who are already affiliated to Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb. According to security men, this has provided an avenue for the influx of illegal aliens, arms, ammunitions and sophisticated imported explosive device materials into the country.

The problem of porous borders is compounded by inadequate personnel, patrol vehicles, surveillance helicopters and equipments. Consequently, most of the borders are leaky and this makes effective control of intruders, smugglers and “merchants of death” a mirage. The vastness of the nation’s borders in the face of these challenges brings to the fore the need for a rethink on the management and security of Nigeria’s borders and seaports – without which effective fight against insurgency, arms trafficking and proliferation will remain an optical illusion. There must be innovative technology; sound policies, proficient process that will help protect our borders. It is worrisome that the exact number of illegal routes and means through which illegal aliens, arms and ammunitions are brought into the country is largely unknown by the nation’s security system.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Customs Staff College/World Customs Organisation Regional Training Centre in Abuja, recently, President Jonathan said he had consistently warned about the spread of small arms across Africa, especially the West African region, by those who he described as ‘foreign merchants of death.’ He said the culprits were ingenious and desperate to sell their wares at the expense of the people of the region. He urged the Customs officers to play their roles in helping the nation overcome the security challenges. “As a government, we are determined to support the creation of a cadre of well trained public service workers with skills and commitment to drive the developmental aspirations of the federal government,” Jonathan said. In his response, Dikko Abdullahi, comptroller-general of Nigeria Customs Service, promised that the service would do its best.

Frank Mba, a chief superintendent and deputy force public relations officer of the Nigeria Police Force, said the police was already working with other security agencies to mop up all illegal weapons in the country. “It is a challenge not only to Nigeria but to other countries in the African sub-region because of the civil wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast. So, the whole of Mano river region comprising Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Guinea, at a time, was under serious threat of destabilisation by internal conflicts and civil wars. We also have challenges in the Sahel region caused by activities of Al Qaeda in the Magreb, which weakened some governments in those areas,” Mba said.

According to the police spokesman, the crisis in Mali, Libya, Chad and the civil war in Central African Republic has also contributed to proliferation of small arms in the country. But he insisted that the police has not been resting on its oars to rid the country of the ‘merchants of death’ as smugglers of arms have come to be known. According Mba, Mohammed Abubakar, inspector general of police, has strengthened the police border department by deploying a “very experienced and operationally competent assistant inspector general of police to head the border patrol unit. “He procured more equipment for operatives in the police border patrol unit, more specialised vehicles and some of the vehicles are equipped with satellite communication gadgets because we discovered that in some of our borders particularly in the north, communication is the major problem,” he said.

Some security experts said the nation would need to imbibe the use of innovative technology such as radars and alarm systems to monitor and secure the borders. “Some radar can be used as primary detection sensor for long range remote surveillance platforms. The ability to detect slow moving targets, even in complex mountainous, thickly forested terrains and large open areas make some radars such us Blighter Radar ideal for remote surveillance and detection of vehicles and people trying to cross borders illegally,” Musa said. According to him, the Mobile Surveillance System provides a cost effective way of monitoring key areas with limited resources and should be given priority.

Emeka Umeagbalasi, chairman, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law based in Onitsha, Anambra State, said the only way to mop up illegal arms in the country is for the federal government to start arms and ammunition buy-back across the country. He advised the government to come out with a policy that would encourage people to surrender small arms in their possession for money. “We have about five million small arms in circulation in the country and out of these figure, Anambra is estimated to have 300,000 small arms in circulation,” Umeagbalasi said.

He said for instance, all the 177 communities in the state had vigilante groups that were armed, while businessmen and various markets in the state have armed vigilantes, and therefore, recommended another form of amnesty for those holding the arms as the best alternative to get them surrendered. “It is possible that we would have another amnesty in the country considering the number of small arms and ammunition in circulation,” he said, adding that “the arms and ammunition in the hands of vigilante groups and other unconventional security outfits in the country should be properly streamlined and monitored.”

Nkemakonam Dickson Orji, president, West Africa Action Network on Small Arms, Nigeria chapter, WAANSA-Nigeria, said that beyond recent efforts of the government, all Nigerians should see the problem as a common challenge for everyone. “There is need for concerted efforts through information or intelligence sharing, through public enlightenment, and also by holding government at all levels accountable in order to reduce the demand for arms. We should re-define the concept of security by holding government accountable on poverty alleviation, employment generation, social security, food security and so on. Some of the private sector organisations and individuals can lead the process,” Orji said.

Similarly, he indicted other African countries for not doing enough to tackle the issue. He said countries should re-define security by spending more money on provision of social amenities rather than on acquisition of arms for their militaries. “In recent times, security threats are more intra-state than inter-state. Government should tackle those societal demands that expose people to vulnerability and aggression, bad governance, corruption, lopsided distribution of wealth, unemployment, poverty, maginalisation and all such social conditions that suggest non-inclusion,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, Enbongabasi Ekpe-Juda, a security consultant, said Nigerian politicians are more concerned about winning elections than the people’s welfare. He said that arming of youths by politicians brought about militancy in the Niger Delta and the creation of Boko Haram sect and unless Nigerian politicians stopped using arms to get to power, all the crimes that government is trying to curtail would continue to escalate. “It does nobody any good, especially when arms are in the hands of criminals and cultists in higher institutions of learning,” Ekpe-Juda said. He said it was unfortunate that the government appeared helpless to tackle the problem of proliferation of arms in the country.

The security consultant said there should be genuine efforts by the government to confront the issue with the aim of making the country safe for everyone. “The weapons come through our borders and airports. There should be enough security personnel at these posts. But since they need the arms to win elections, they will not want to do the right thing to solve the problem,” Ekpe-Juda said.

Well, it appears that whatever measures the government may want to use to tackle the proliferation of small arms in the country, it cannot succeed until it probably puts in place good governance and a sound economy that will provide jobs and discourage crimes.

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