RECENTLY, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, in an interaction with the new
Police Commissioner in Delta State vehemently canvassed for strict enforcement of the law criminalizing unlawful possession of firearms. According to the Governor, this will go a long way in checkmating illegal possession of fire arms and the security threats and breaches associated with it. We totally align ourselves with the position of the governor as it remains not only a statement of fact but a wakeup call on all law enforcement agencies to step up efforts in tackling the evils of illegal possession, use, manufacture or sale of the lethal weapons.
It is also a manifestation of the governor’s firm belief on government’s responsibility to secure lives and property of citizens in an atmosphere free from unlawful possession, circulation, and use of firearms. There is no doubt that unlawful possession of fire arms poses a serious security threat to any society hence no responsive, responsible and people-oriented government will allow such evil to continue unabated. Certainly, this responsibility requires not only providing legal framework for the regulation of flow and use of the fire arms but more importantly in enforcing the relevant laws against illegal possession of firearms.
While the fire arms Act clearly prohibitsunlawful possession of firearms in the country, it is worrisome that poor enforcement of this law has created flood gate for illegal arms in the hands of many unscrupulous persons particularly non-state actors.
For instance, a report on National Small Arms and Light Weapons in a survey conducted in 2021 by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Geneva, approximately 6.4-6.5million fire arms were in the possession of civilian’s in Nigeria as far back as 2016
.The survey also indicated that 14 percent of Nigerian household possessed at least one fire arm, translating approximately to 17 firearms per 100 persons nationwide while not less than eight million lives were annually affected by the proliferation and unregulated use of firearms. Further reports indicate that a total of 7,221 fire arms were surrendered by non-state actors nationwide.
While such surrender appears gratifying, it however, clearly indicates the extent to which fire arms could find their ways into unauthorized hands. This, to say the least, is preposterous, unhealthy and totally unacceptable as uncontrolled flow of fire arms especially among non-state actors places the security of lives and property of citizens in an unmitigated jeopardy.
Furthermore, it undermines the authority of government to protect its citizens and defend its territorial integrity. Indeed, illegal possession of arms contributes immensely to disruption of electoral processes like ballot snatching, killing and maiming of electoral officers and innocent voters as unscrupulous perpetrators more often than not find such platforms as very useful for unleashing terror on the nation.
Worse still, it is largely responsible for the continued murderous siege on parts of the nation, particularly the northern geo-political zone by terrorist groups, including ISWAP, Boko Haram, Killer Fulani herdsmen, kidnappers, armed robbers and arsonists just to mention a few. Indeed, failure of our law enforcement agencies to arrest, investigate, and prosecute the perpetrators of illegal fire arms in the country has contributed tremendously to the ravaging and dangerous threat to national security by unscrupulous persons, including cultists and their partners in crime.
Governor Oborevwore’s call on the relevant authorities to strictly and legally apply/enforce the law against unlicensed ownership and use
of firearms therefore resonates with many patriotic Nigerians, political analysts, democratic tenets and global best practices.
It is our irrevocable belief that as part of efforts to win the war against unlawful possession of firearms, there is an urgent need to address frontally the issue of the nation’s porous borders which unfortunately, aides free flow of illicit trades, including fire arms, into the country and the deployment of modern technology for detecting such especially now that the perpetrators employ sophisticated means in unleashing their heinous crime on the society.
Besides, training and retraining of security operatives in the country on the use of modern technology rather than reliance on kinetic module should be emphasized.
The onus is now on our law enforcement agencies to see the governor’s concern as a wake -up call to strictly unmask the sponsors, agents and privies to illegal possession of firearms and make them to face the full wrath of the law.
