The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) announced the destruction of over 16,000 unusable or outdated weapons as part of a mission to reduce illegal gun circulation. Johnson Babatunde Kokumo, the retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police who leads the centre, shared this update while meeting with the Inspector-General of Police in Abuja.
Kokumo highlighted the support from the Nigeria Police Force, which provided 11,907 of these weapons, including 8,438 automatic firearms and 3,489 homemade guns. He identified the influx of illicit arms through borders and unauthorized local manufacturing as significant drivers of terrorism and violent crime.
Addressing the issue, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Disu emphasized the necessity of strict armoury oversight. He called for enhanced security, regular audits, and the assignment of reliable personnel to manage police storage sites. Disu also noted the rising sophistication of locally produced weapons and urged for better intelligence sharing to dismantle illegal manufacturing networks.
