Within a spate of three weeks, the Police hauled in an unprecedented quantity of assorted firearms hitherto in possession of unauthorized persons in various states of the Federation.
According to reports, a total of 4,200 illegally-acquired firearms were recovered within the period from Edo, Enugu, Katsina, Oyo, Osun and Ogun States. Consisting of rifled and unrifled pistols, pump action guns of varying degrees of sophistication, AK-47 rifles, sub-machine guns (SMG’s), and general purpose machine guns (GPMG’s) among others, the Police in the FCT Command, similarly took delivery of 425 illegal fire-arms, while the commands in Lagos and Kano States mopped up 200 and 60 prohibited fire-arms respectively.
The unusual harvest by the Police was also experienced in Sokoto where over 200 guns were recovered and otherwise rural states of Jigawa and Ebonyi which respectively turned in 119 and 146.
The frightening but welcome development followed the directive by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotun Idris to the States and Zonal Commands of the Force to embark on an aggressive exercise of mopping up of prohibited fire-arms in circulation in their areas of jurisdiction. With a twenty-one day grace period, 22nd of February to 14th of March, within which members of the public in illegal possessions of fire-arms should submit them without the fear of prosecution, the Police commands were ordered to thereafter engage on other strategies of enforcement.
According to the IGP, the second phase in the action would entail, “cordon and search, raids and seizure from premises, hideouts, dwelling houses and sites suspected to harbor the lethal instruments”. Mr. Idris warned that anyone found with prohibited firearms after the “expiration of the 21 days would be arrested, investigated and prosecuted”.
The operation, according to the IGP, is one of the measures aimed at further curtailing the menace of herders and farmers clashes, kidnappings, armed robbery, cattle rustling, violence encounters between feuding communities or groups, militancy and terrorism and like incidents where fire-arms are used. The action is futher intended to reduce the proliferation of arms even among non-criminal elements who keep such weapons for the purpose of self-defence.
Albeit the fact that some of the fire-arms so far recovered resulted from police offensive actions of raids and interceptions at check points, it is somewhat, yet an exciting experience that there have been cases of people who, in compliance with the order, have voluntarily surrendered arms in their possessions. Not a few would have dismissed the IGP’s order as one other Police grand standing or, an exercise in futility.
Against the backdrop of a situation where the public is generally skeptical of the intentions of the Police Force, it would come as highly improbable for someone who had surreptiously purchased a gun in the black market, either for nefarious purposes or in self defence, to walk up to the Police and surrender same without hesitation or apprehension.
After all, while the security agencies were not aware about the transaction, the high cost of firearms would also likely inhibit the zeal to give up their deadly possessions merely on the guarantee that they stand no risk of prosecution.
Those members of the public, who have braved compliance, deserve commendation for their acts of patriotism and bravery. They must not therefore, be made to regret their decision and action now or in the future.
The success story, so far recorded by the Police in the exercise is indicative that, given the right approach, there are citizens who are law abiding and averse to crime. By their gesture, the Police have been advertently, challenged to engage in other inovative mechanisms of crime prevention and control beyond their known traditional methods of the use of force.
As have been observed by some of the Police Commissioners, even the recoveries made by means of raids and arrests of suspects, were made possible by the collaborative actions of members of the public. Such incidents have thrown up once more, the significance of community policing, which, briefly, demands the active participation of the citizens in the task of security.
As practised in other climes, community policing largely entails the passage of information from citizens to Law Enforcement Agencies. Without such a synergy, no mater their numerical strengths of personnel and sophistication of equipment, no Police Agency in the world can effectively perform if they are not bolstered by the goodwill and cooperation of the communities.
However, the most pertinent point in the on-going mopping up of illegal arms in the hands of unauthorized persons or, non-state actors, is that the IGP may have merely embarked on a long, tortuous and painstaking exercise. This is because, going by the statistics provided by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament, Nigeria accounts for about 70% of illicit weapons in West Africa with an estimated total figure of 500 million of the small arms and light weapons (SALW) circulating illegally in the sub region.
Nigeria is therefore having the frightening figure of 350 million small and light weapons in the hands of non-state actors, majority of who intend to put such instruments into criminal actions. With an estimated population of 180 million people, it also translates to imply that every Nigerian citizen can have two unlicensed guns obtained in the black market. Any gain saying the danger that is starkly starring us in the face.
Already, effects of the humongous number of light and small arms in the hands of unauthorized persons can be felt in the burgeouring incidents of violence in all parts of the country. From the seemingly unending insurgency in the North East, the mushrooming phenomena of kidnapping, to the ravaging, transmutating incidents of communal and fatricidal wars, the nation has been experiencing various forms of the catastrophic consequences of arms proliferation.
If the situation remains unchecked for too long, it can only get worse to the dangerous level where a UN expert has warned: “This scourge will not only jeopardize the development gains over the last fifty years, but will also impede the nation’s capacity to achieve its development targets and, therefore, negatively impact on the future generations.”
From the emerging scenario long term repercussions of the armed conflicts pervading the country frightfully portend a more gory future.
The effort at mopping of dangerous weapons in possession of unauthorized persons, even if it means reducing the numbers to the bearest is a task that must be done.
IGP Idris must be commended for identifying and deciding to tackle the menace. However, like his other laudable, phenomenal programs, IGP Idris must be conscious that he may not accomplish the task before the end of his tenure. What is important therefore is for him to do as much as possible while he is on it.
Besides sensitizing and mobilizing the citizens, the Police should also endeavour to make other security agencies to key into the programme of checking the proliferation of Arms in the country. The Police needs for example, the cooperation of Immigration service in checking the flow of unscrupulous foreign elements who have been identified to be among the merchants of the instruments of death and destabilization.
The Customs service must also be brought in board by being more alive in the performance of its statutory duty of scrutiny of goods coming into the country through the land boarders, sea and air ports. Mr. Idris has embarked on a task that may well turn out to be the defining factor in his leadership of the nation’s Police Force.
Ayuba Ahmad is a kaduna based Public Affairs Analyst
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