The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, has disclosed that most of the firearms 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.
Ribadu who spoke during an exercise for the destruction of illicit arms at Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment, Giri, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) said the spread of illicit small arms and light weapons was a major threat to national security, which worsened insurgency, banditry, and other violent crimes.
The NSA stated, “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.”
Ribadu added, “All illicit arms, not only unserviceable, all illicit. Any weapon that is taken 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.”
