By Clement Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Federal Government of Nigeria has called for stronger cross-border cooperation with neighbouring countries and international partners to combat illicit arms proliferation, improve weapons tracing and disrupt trafficking networks across the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.
The Minister of Foreign Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, made the call following a meeting with the Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), Deputy Inspector-General of Police Johnson Babatunde Kokumo (rtd.), and his delegation in Abuja.
Ojukwu disclosed this in a statement posted on her official X handle on Friday, noting that the meeting focused on the centre’s mandate and the need to strengthen diplomatic cooperation to address the proliferation of illicit weapons.
She said Kokumo identified external sources, local artisanal production and the diversion of weapons from authorised government stockpiles as major drivers of illicit arms proliferation.
According to the minister, the NCCSALW director-general outlined the centre’s efforts to trace intercepted weapons, investigate trafficking networks, secure government stockpiles and destroy recovered illicit weapons to prevent them from re-entering circulation.
Ojukwu said Kokumo also acknowledged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ support for international training programmes and engagements, while requesting enhanced diplomatic cooperation to strengthen the centre’s operations.
The minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to international and regional arms control frameworks, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the African Union’s Silencing the Guns initiative, the Arms Trade Treaty and relevant United Nations instruments.
She stressed the importance of stronger coordination among countries and international partners in weapons tracing and intelligence sharing, particularly across the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, where illicit arms trafficking poses security challenges.
Ojukwu also expressed optimism about the ongoing dialogue between ECOWAS and the Confederation of Sahel States (AES), which began in Dakar, Senegal.
She urged both parties to incorporate arms control and weapons-tracing cooperation into their emerging framework to strengthen regional security and address the movement of illicit weapons across borders.
The minister assured that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would continue to support the NCCSALW’s activities through diplomatic engagement, international cooperation and sustained inter-agency coordination.
Precise Post recalls that the engagement underscores Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen domestic and regional mechanisms for controlling the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, which fuel insecurity and undermine stability across West Africa.
