The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Tunji Disu, has raised fresh alarm over the growing movement of illegal arms from insurgency-hit areas in Northern Nigeria to other parts of the country, warning that the trend poses a serious threat to national security.
Speaking on Thursday at the Force Headquarters in Abuja while receiving the Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, DIG Babatunde Johnson (retd), the police boss called for stronger intelligence sharing, tighter border surveillance and closer collaboration among security agencies to halt the spread of illicit weapons.
According to Disu, intelligence reports indicate that firearms are being transported from conflict zones such as Maiduguri and Zamfara to other parts of the country, particularly the South-West, through road, water and other illegal routes.
“Arms are moving everywhere in the country, using the roads, the waters and even other routes. They are moving from battle areas to other parts of the country. Timely intelligence will help us stop this menace,” he said.
The IGP stressed that security agencies must embrace real-time intelligence sharing to prevent criminal activities before they occur.
He blamed the continued influx of illegal weapons on Nigeria’s porous borders, noting that arms traffickers exploit numerous illegal entry points to smuggle firearms into the country.
“Our borders are so porous, and traffickers are determined to ensure these weapons get into the hands of criminals,” he said.
Disu also expressed concern over the increasing sophistication of locally fabricated firearms, revealing that some are now almost identical to imported AK-47 rifles, complete with serial numbers, making them difficult to detect.
He called for intensified efforts to dismantle illegal arms manufacturing networks and underground markets supplying weapons to criminal groups.
The police chief further directed stricter monitoring of armouries across security agencies, warning that some officials had previously been implicated in the illegal sale of weapons.
“We must strengthen oversight of our armouries through regular audits because, from time to time, officers have been linked to illegal arms sales,” he said.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, Disu disclosed that the Nigeria Police Force had intensified nationwide operations to recover illegal firearms and would continue civil disarmament programmes aimed at encouraging voluntary surrender of illicit weapons.
Earlier, the Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, DIG Babatunde Johnson (retd), disclosed that the Centre had destroyed more than 16,000 obsolete and illicit firearms since its establishment.
He revealed that the Nigeria Police Force alone handed over 11,907 illegal, obsolete and decommissioned weapons to the Centre, including 8,438 automatic rifles and 3,489 locally fabricated firearms, for destruction.
Johnson said the destruction of the weapons was part of ongoing efforts to prevent them from finding their way back into criminal circulation.
He reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to working with security agencies to curb the proliferation of small arms and strengthen national security.
