Senate worried over proliferation of small arms in Nigeria

The Nigerian Senate, on Tuesday, expressed great concern over the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria, calling for urgent measures to stem the trend.

In a motion moved by Senator Hope Uzodinma (Imo West), the Senate faulted the porous nature of Nigerian border on the non proactive state of the security personnel, adding that, it would signal “grave security implications for the country.”

Uzodinma narrated how the Nigerian Customs Service seized a truck load of sophisticated riffles illegally imported into Nigeria from China, last month.

He said, further investigation revealed that, the said, “40ft container with 661 Pump Action Riffles were cleared at the Lagos Port by some Custom Officers and had, in fact, left the Port before it was intercepted at Mile 2 area of Lagos”.

The Senator also revealed how, the Customs in Tin Can Island Command, “intercepted a cache of Arms, Ammunition and Military Gadgets, smuggled into the country from the United States of America”.

“If this ugly trend of illegal importation of small arms and light weapons into the country is not checked, there won’t be an end to the menace of armed robbery, cultism, cattle rustling, kidnapping and even the deadly Boko Haram disturbing the peace of the country”, he submitted.

The Senate, therefore, mandated its committees on Customs, Excise and Tariff, and Interior, to examine all the processes involved in importation of goods and ascertain also who does what and how, in the said process.

They also resolved to investigate recent incident of illegal importation of 661 sophisticated weapons into the country.

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