Criminals are hell-bent on making Nigeria unsafe, with diverse methods being used to smuggle firearms into the country. The country is currently battling insurgents, killer herders, robbers, kidnappers and bandits using sophisticated weapons to cause mayhem across states in the country. Security agents have been able to bust some of the gangs and their methods of smuggling firearms into the country while others albeit escaped their eagle eyes. There are viral videos on the arrested criminals, documenting strange methods adopted to smuggle in the arms. In one of the videos, one of the soldiers who apprehended a group of men of northern extraction transporting guns using motorcycles, said to his colleagues, “As dem dey pass, I fire dem. I lie down for ground and I fire dem.’’
As he spoke, he and other soldiers dismantled the motorcycles they confiscated from the suspected gunrunners. The motorcycles looked normal like others used for commercial activities. But upon scrutiny, the soldiers discovered that the special bikes were tailor-made to transport guns and ammunition undetected across states and within Nigerian cities.
With measured expertise, the soldiers pulled off the seat of one of the bikes and thereafter used a hammer, a screwdriver and scissor to rip it apart. They removed nails used by the criminals to hold the bike seat and opened it. Inside the seat were an AK-47 rifle and a fully loaded magazine. The soldiers were surprised by the criminals’ ingenuity and one of them kept shouting ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.’ Another soldier, who was equally shocked, screamed, “We think dem be mumu, dem no be mumu o. Dem go dey look us dey laugh.’’
Concealing firearms in bike seats is one of the ways criminals have adopted to escape prying eyes of security agents.
FIREARMS ACT
In February 2018, then Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris in a statement ordered all commissioners of police in all states and FCT to immediately commence disarmament and recovery of prohibited firearms, ammunition and weapons.
He stated that all firearms in the possession of suspected militias, bandits, vigilante groups, neighbourhood watch and other groups or individual(s) or bodies, whether locally fabricated, modified or otherwise fashioned to kill or can cause harm or injury to persons, security breach anywhere in Nigeria, were to be seized.
After the announcement, a Police Joint Task Enforcement Team was set up at the Force Headquarters by the IG of Police, and Commissioners of Police of all states were mandated to set up similar joint task force enforcement teams in their respective states and zones. The order was backed by the Robbery and Firearms Act (2004), stipulating it is explicit and punishable to illegally possess or receive firearms.
It appears that 3 years after the mop up exercise, criminals all over the nation still run wild with guns and transport them across state borders and within cities largely undetected using various concealment techniques. The case is even more palpable with the recent increase in gun-related violence all over the country.
GUN CONCEALMENT TACTICS
Gun concealment tactics vary from one criminal group to another. In fact, criminally-minded Nigerians continue to change techniques to beat scrutiny of security agents around the country.
CENTRE FOR THE CONTROL OF SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS
In May this year, President Muhammadu Buhari approved establishment of a national centre for the control of small arms and light weapons. In the statement released by the Presidency, he said the centre would be for the policy guidance, research and monitoring of all aspects of small arms and light weapons in the country.
According to the Presidency, the decision to set up this centre is part of an ongoing restructuring of the country’s defence structure to address threats of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria. The rise in smuggling of small arms and light weapons into the country and border areas has worsened terrorism, human trafficking, organised crime and insurrection in West Africa and Nigeria.
SECURITY EXPERTS ’ VIEWS
A security expert, Oladele Fajana, said both government and citizens have roles to play in curbing the dangerous gun trend in the country. He said the ease with which firearms move freely around the country was a situation that should bother security agents and every Nigerian.
Fajana added, “Government must as a matter of urgency arrest this situation. Proliferation of firearms in the country, if not handled quickly and effectively by government, will blow up the powder keg we are already sitting on. Porous borders of the country remain one of the major reasons there are small arms and light weapons all over Nigeria. A lot of importers are culprits in the importation of weapons and they use various tactics to conceal and transport them around the country. Some rice importers hide guns in bags of rice and deceive custom officials at the borders.”
According to him, almost every criminal arrested these days is found with guns and even secondary school pupils are not left out of this growing gun trend. He added there were citizens who appeared normal but used by criminals to hide guns.
The security expert stated, “There was a socialite who was arrested for gunrunning years ago. No one knew of his criminal lifestyle until some of the criminals he worked with were caught and his name was mentioned and it was discovered he was an armourer for them.”
Fajana further said that the most effective method to curb spread of firearms all around the country was for government to encourage citizens to report strange happenings or people in their environment. Some people know their neighbours keep firearms for criminals but might be scared to report to security operatives for fear of being attacked by the criminals when released. Government can encourage citizens by creating reporting lines by which individuals can make anonymous reports to security agencies on anything that can cause harm in the environment, and these reports can then be substantiated by security operatives,” he said.
On the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and light Weapons, Fajana said that it wasn’t only the duty of the centre to prevent spread of firearms in the country, stating that citizens also had a role to play. “After the #EndSARS protests, police rolled out citizen reporting lines through which people could report any form of police harassment and brutality. We need to collectively play our part to fight crime. If we do not play our part, it might affect us, families or friends. There’s no way the centre can succeed without public help.”
Another security expert, John Enweliku, linked influx of small arms and light weapons to Nigeria’s porous borders. He urged government, customs and police to join forces with immigration in halting entry of migrants with arms into the country. According to Enweliku, sometime ago, some smugglers used camels from Mali, Chad and Niger Republic to smuggle arms into Nigeria.
He added that members of terrorist groups in Nigeria and other West African countries such as ISWAP and Boko Haram take advantage of loose borders to smuggle firearms into the country. “It is only through checkmating of Nigerian borders that this problem can be addressed and these small arms stopped from getting into the country.”
Enweliku noted most of the guns in Nigeria and some West Africa countries were smuggled from the Sahel region. “When Libyan leader, Muammar Gadaffi was in power, arms were acquired and when he died, many dissident groups came up and use arms at their disposal to terrorise many,’’ Enweliku added.
He said the country needed political will to completely stamp out rapid proliferation of firearms in Nigeria. “Even in states where bandits hold sway in the North, there is need for political will to tackle them. It is only when political will of leaders is strong enough that the gun menace facing the country can be eradicated.”
Enweliku stated further that Amotekun and the ESN could be used to tackle the gun menace if well handled. He added, “Since they are both local units and members of their communities, they can easily detect and arrest residents who might pose a threat to safety of lives and property.’’
On his part, counter-terrorism expert and Senior Researcher for Lake Chad Basin Programme at the Institute for Security Studies, Dakar, Senegal, Dr Akinola Olojo, stated there would be no quick fixes considering the depth of challenges facing Nigeria. He nevertheless noted the current administration still had an opportunity to invest itself in the difficult but necessary process of redeeming the country.
Olojo said, “First, the current government needs to revamp its leadership posture and seek a more meaningful engagement with citizens. When a violent event such as a (mass) abduction or Boko Haram attack occurs, reaction of government and even the president often fails to reflect the mood and appropriate response towards affected communities. There is evident lack of a sense of urgency and empathy towards citizens. This points to the fundamental problem with Nigeria’s social contract that binds citizens and leaders and it needs to be revisited with view to redefining governance framework such that all citizens, irrespective of ethnicity, religion, gender or age, can feel genuinely part of the polity.’’
He identified the 2nd approach as need for accountability by Nigerian leadership on all levels, specifically ensuring accountability in bringing to justice individuals who perpetrated crimes of abduction and banditry across the country. According to him, government is treating the unfolding cycle of violence with levity and unfortunately, lives are still being lost and many citizens currently held hostage.
Olojo stated, “There should also be stronger sense of accountability by lawmakers in the National Assembly towards their respective constituencies or local communities where there are many governance gaps that push people towards extreme poverty and crime. 3rd, Nigeria does not really need to reinvent the wheel in addressing security challenges such as violent extremism for instance. There is already a ‘Policy Framework and National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism’ launched in 2017. It contains most of the critical components capable of addressing the problem at hand.
Some of these components focus on strengthening rule of law and human rights, deepening community engagement and resilience building, and strengthening institutions and inter-agency coordination among others. The real question borders on why the Nigerian government fails to implement these components.’’
He concluded that in the light of the transnational character of violent extremism or terrorism, Nigeria should strengthen regional collaboration with its neighbours including Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
“In the present-day, all 4 countries are stakeholders of what is known as the ‘Regional Strategy for Stabilisation, Recovery and Resilience of the Boko Haram-affected Areas in the Lake Chad Basin Region.’ This strategy was launched back in 2018 and inspired by the Lake Chad Basin Commission with support of the AU and UNDP. The organisation I work with also supports this partnership. Rather than adopt a desperate posture towards the USA, Nigeria should focus on reinforcing existing intervention pillars of the LCBC’s regional strategy in order to ensure robust and urgent implementation in crisis-affected communities,’’ he said. Besides, spokesperson for the Nigeria Police, Frank Mba, didn’t pick our correspondent’s call nor reply to a text message sent to his mobile as at time of filing this report.
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