Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission through the Organised Crime West African Response to Trafficking (OCWAR-T) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari administration to intensify the fight against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
It lamented that arms proliferation was threatening the peace and security of Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub-region.
The commission made the appeal at the Joint Planning Retreat on Enhancing Small Arms Control in Nigeria held at Transcorp Hotel, Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
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Speaking on the topic, “Strengthening Small Arms Control in Nigeria”, Chief of Division Small Arms, Nanan PieX Joseph Ahoba, declared that if the guidelines on small arms were to be strictly enforced, insecurity and other crimes in Nigeria and the West African sub-region would be curbed.
“It is only through unity and pooling of resources that the threat of arms and human trafficking can be addressed,” Nanan PieX stated.
In a communique issued at the end of the retreat with civil societies and Nigerian technical partners in attendance, the commission said the retreat was held to update participants’ knowledge on review of Firearms Act; facilitate the transformation of newly-created National Centre on Small Arms into full-fledged National Commission on Small Arms and the passage of the Nigeria Firearms Bill and develop joint proposals to enhance interventions on SALW control in Nigeria.