The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) says it has seized and destroyed 16,000 illicit arms across Nigeria in four years to curb insecurity and enhance public safety.
During an administrative and operational visit to the North-West Zonal Office in Kaduna on Tuesday, the Director-General of the Centre, Rtd DIG Johnson Kokumo, provided details of these efforts.
The visit, Kokumo said, was intended to assess how effectively the Centre’s regional structures function and to reinforce its operational mandate.
He also highlighted how the proliferation of small arms and light weapons fuels banditry, insurgency, and other violent crimes in vulnerable regions.
The Centre, he added, is dedicated to eliminating illegal arms by conducting intelligence-driven operations and maintaining collaboration with security and law enforcement agencies.
“Our joint efforts have led to successes in addressing the menace of illicit arms proliferation,” he said.
The North-West Zonal Office of the Centre covers Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states.
Adding to the occasion, the Zonal Director, Rtd Commodore Jibril Mukhtar, described the visit as a morale booster for personnel and a demonstration of the leadership’s commitment to field operations.
Mukhtar said the region had recorded relative calm in recent times, attributing the development partly to the recovery and destruction of illegal arms, which contributed to decreased violence and improved security in the North-West.
He assured that the command would continue to uphold professionalism and align with the Centre’s objectives.
As part of the tour, Kokumo visited the Kaduna State Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, where he met with officials to discuss strengthening inter-agency collaboration and intelligence sharing.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Muhammad Bashir, who received Kokumo, reaffirmed the Kaduna government’s commitment to supporting federal initiatives to curb the spread of illicit arms.
He also emphasised the importance of intelligence sharing, community engagement, and institutional collaboration in building sustainable security.
Continuing the tour, Kokumo also visited the Nigerian Air Force Air Training Command in Kaduna to highlight the importance of military synergy in tackling illicit arms proliferation.
He also inspected the ongoing construction of a permanent North-West Zonal Office, which he said would enhance operational efficiency, coordination and rapid response in the region, further strengthening the Centre’s impact on regional security.
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