Former Nigerian Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar has expressed concern that the figures of 80,000 killed and three million displaced is being fuelled by the proliferation of arms and ammunition in the country at an estimated six million.
Abubakar who made this disclosure on Wednesday at a dialogue session of the National Peace Committee with stakeholders in Abuja, said the challenges facing the country has transcended security and assumed an all-encompassing nature.
While listing the challenges to include Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, increasing poverty, he called for the balkanization of the country from different quarters, and a lasting solution to the threat of hunger arising from insecurity of farmers.
“The proliferation of all calibre of weapons in Nigeria is worrying. It is estimated that there are over six million of such weapons in circulation in the country. This certainly exacerbated the insecurity that led to over 80,000 deaths and close to three million internally displaced persons.
“We believe Nigeria must find a way out of these problems. Our hope is that perhaps among us, by listening to your different perspectives, we can begin to build up confidence among our people so that we can hold together. So our hope is that we shall not only share our collective lamentations about the current situation, but propose some concrete suggestions that can point the way forward, suggestions that can inspire more confidence among our people and ensure that our country remains one,” Abdusalami said.
The six million weapons figure in the hands of non-State actors is coming after a recent report by SBM Intelligence which indicated that civilians were in possession of more arms than security officials in the country. The report detailed how the proliferation of small arms in Africa’s largest economy is fueling insecurity in the country.
“The number of small arms in circulation in Nigeria, in the hands of civilian non-state actors is estimated at 6,145,000, while the armed forces and law enforcement collectively account for 586,600 firearms,” the report said.
SBM said the trend of arms proliferation in Nigeria has an impact on the country’s internal security, which has led to violence, deaths and injury of citizens.
According to a Global Terrorism Index 2020 report, Nigeria was ranked the third most terrorised country in the world due to insecurity.
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