Fresh facts have emerged on how small and light arms are concealed and smuggled through Nigeria’s borders.
LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered from the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (North Central) that arms are concealed in Jerry cans and bags of rice among others.
It was gathered that the act of smuggling small and light arms are done using women and children.
The zonal director of the centre, Abdul Adamu Enenche, confirmed that the items are used to evade security scrutiny.
Enenche said the center had however made remarkable progress in ensuring the control of small arms and light weapons.
He said the central relied on intelligence to check the trend and control the proliferation of arms .
The zonal director attributed the various security challenges in the country like insurgency, banditry, cattle rustling, communal clashes, farmers and herders’ clashes to the proliferation of illegal arms.
While calling for collective effort to check the trend he also lamented that blacksmiths who hitherto fabricated only dane guns for ceremonies had graduated to producing small arms that end up in the hands of criminals.
He said the central was an intelligence organisation using advocacy and sensitisation as non-kenetic means to control small arms and light weapons.
