The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, has identified the proliferation of small arms and light weapons as one of the gravest threats to peace and security across Africa, noting that the weapons do not respect borders.
Disu stated this in his opening speech at the opening ceremony of the Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification and Tracing (SALW-IT) simulation programme in Abuja on Monday.
He stressed the need for collaboration among African countries to strengthen their collective capacity in the identification, marking, registration and tracing of small arms, light weapons and ammunition.
“That threat is clear. The proliferation of small arms and light weapons remains one of the gravest dangers to peace and security across Africa. These weapons do not respect borders. They fuel terrorism, armed banditry, kidnapping, communal conflict and organised crime — from the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin to every corner of our continent.
“Nigeria, like many of our sister nations, has borne the human and economic cost of this scourge. We understand — painfully — that no country can win this fight alone,” he said.
He added, “That is why the central objective of this programme is so critical: to strengthen our collective capacity in the identification, marking, registration and tracing of small arms, light weapons and ammunition.
“A weapon that cannot be traced is a dead end for any investigation. Identification and tracing are not mere technical procedures. They are the foundation of accountability. They are the gateway to intelligence. They are the key that links a recovered weapon to the network, the financier, and the route behind it.
“I am particularly pleased that this programme places a premium on practical, hands-on learning through simulation. Theory must be matched by practice. The simulation exercises — including the indoor shooting scenarios to be conducted at the Nigeria Police Simulation Centre — will place each participant under realistic conditions that closely mirror the operational realities our officers face daily in the field.”
The participants were drawn from Chad, the Central African Republic, Mali, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Niger, Libya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Nigeria.
The IGP said the Nigeria Police Force was fully committed not only to the objectives of the programme but also to the broader regional and continental effort to control the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
“We will continue to provide the enabling environment, institutional support and operational cooperation required to sustain the gains of this training,” he said.
IGP Disu calls for African collaboration to tackle arms proliferation