The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has alerted the public to the movement of illegal arms from conflict-ridden parts of Northern Nigeria to the South-West.
The IGP made this known on Thursday while hosting the Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police Babatunde Johnson at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
Disu revealed that weapons are being transported through road and water routes.
The trend he said, poses a growing threat to national security, adding that intelligence shows that arms are moved from conflict areas such as Maiduguri in Borno State and Zamfara State to other parts of the country, particularly the South-West.
“Arms are moving everywhere in the country, using the roads, the waters and even other routes. Arms are moving from the battle areas, Maiduguri, Zamfara, down to the West. Most of the time they come by road and by water as well, so timely intelligence will help us solve this,” Disu said.
He stressed that there’s need for real-time intelligence sharing among security agencies to intercept the weapons before they reach criminal elements.
“Intelligence shared is invaluable. Everywhere in the world, intelligence sharing is going to real-time intelligence sharing so that we can quickly nip it in the bud,” he added.
According to him, the police intensified efforts to recover illicit weapons ahead of the 2027 general elections and would sustain civil disarmament campaigns to encourage the voluntary surrender of illegal firearms.
