By ThePreview Team

 

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has described the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons as a major threat to peace and security in Africa, saying it is fuelling terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and organised crime.

Mr Disu stated this on Monday in Abuja while declaring open the Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification and Tracing (SALW-IT) Simulation Programme.

The five-day programme, which runs from 12 to 16 October, is designed to strengthen participants’ capacity to identify, mark, register and trace small arms, light weapons and ammunition, Ani Iniedu, force public relations officer, said in a statement on Monday.

He said participants were drawn from Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Mali, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Niger, Libya, Benin and the Republic of Congo, noting that the training combines technical instruction with practical exercises at the Nigeria Police Simulation Centre.

Mr Disu said effective weapons tracing helps investigators uncover trafficking networks, financiers and supply routes, enabling targeted action against illicit arms trafficking.

The police chief linked the training to preparations for Nigeria’s upcoming elections, noting that disrupting illicit arms supply would help prevent electoral violence and intimidation.

He said this would protect voters and electoral personnel and support conditions necessary for peaceful, free and fair elections.

“To extend these benefits to frontline policing, the knowledge and skills acquired will be cascaded through structured training and knowledge-sharing across Police commands and formations. This will strengthen officers’ ability to identify, trace and recover weapons, develop actionable intelligence and support routine policing and election-security operations,” he said.

Mr Disu called for closer sub-regional and continental cooperation through timely intelligence sharing, coordinated investigations and mutual assistance in locating and apprehending suspects involved in transborder crimes.

He said cooperation through established legal and institutional channels is essential to preventing offenders from exploiting national borders to evade justice.

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He stated that Inspectors-General of Police from West and East African countries would meet to deliberate on crime-related issues and develop modalities for addressing transborder crime.

“These deliberations would support the broader drive for coordinated responses to shared security threats,” he added.

The IGP commended the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC), INTERPOL, relevant African Union entities and experts from the German Armed Forces Verification Centre for their support.

He urged participants to share operational experiences, build lasting professional relationships and apply the knowledge gained in their respective countries.

According to the statement, Mr Disu reaffirmed the Force’s commitment to regional and continental arms-control efforts and pledged sustained institutional support and operational cooperation to translate the training into improved public safety and election security.