National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, has accused policemen and soldiers of stealing arms and ammunition from their formation for onward delivery to criminal elements.
He said security agents involved in the act are “the worst human beings,” adding that efforts must be put in place to check those people.
Ribadu disclosed this in Abuja during the destruction of arms by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms And Light Weapons.
He said, “We have to find a way of putting a stop to this. We must if we want to recover our country and live in peace and stability.
“The worst human being is a policeman or a soldier who will take arms from his own formations and sell it or hide it out for the bad people to come and kill his own colleagues.
“We must fight these people but also there are merchants of death and evil from outside the world.
“The proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons remains a major threat to our national security, exacerbating issues such as insurgency, banditry and other violent crimes.”
The NSA also cursed security personnel who facilitated the movement of weapons to terrorists, bandits and other non-state actors.
Ribadu said a sizeable number of illicit arms being used to commit crimes in the country originally belonged to the government.
He explained that the weapons ended up in the hands of non-state actors due to corrupt elements within the security agencies.
The NSA said the destruction of arms was part of efforts to address the challenge of arms proliferation in Nigeria.
He said that by destroying unserviceable, obsolete and recovered arms, the government was demonstrating its commitment to a secure future for all Nigerians.
“All illicit arms, not only unserviceable, all illicit, any weapon that is taken is out there that is through illegal process. We have laws that govern ownership of small arms. If you do not follow it, it is an illegal arm and it is supposed to be destroyed completely,” he said.
The Director General of NCCSALW, DIG Johnson Kokumo (retd), said the arms destruction exercise was the third in a series since the centre was established and the first since his assumption of command.
Kokumo said the challenge posed by the proliferation of arms was one of the major threats to peace and security in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
He said the exercise would witness the destruction of over 2,400 illicit weapons, comprising a mix of unserviceable, decommissioned and recovered arms.
Kokumo also revealed that the weapons recently recovered by the Nigeria Customs Service in Port Harcourt would be destroyed after the court proceedings have concluded.
He said, “These weapons have been mopped up by the military, police and other security agencies across the country.
“By permanently removing these arms from circulation, we reduce the risk they pose to our communities and send a clear message that Nigeria will not tolerate the illegal trafficking and possession of small arms and light weapons.
“It is also important to state that the National Centre has in its custody some recovered/captured illicit SALW still undergoing tracing as well as investigations and legal processes.
“These include the illicit weapons handed over to the centre by the Nigeria Customs Service. These categories of weapons would be destroyed on completion of the proceedings during subsequent routine destruction exercises.”
Kokumo said destroying arms has helped remove thousands of illegal dangerous weapons from circulation with serious security implications for the country.
