The Minister of Defence, retired Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi, has pledged support for the National Centre for Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) toward halting illicit arms circulation in Nigeria.
Magashi made the pledge when the Coordinator of NCCSALW, retired Maj.-Gen. Abba Dikko, led its management team on a visit to him in Abuja on Friday.
The Special Assistant to the minister on Media and Publicity, Mr Mohammad Abdulkadri, in a statement, quoted Magashi as tasking the leadership of the centre to sanitise the national security landscape.
He specifically urged the centre to checkmate illegal movements, manipulations and management of arms in the country in compliance with its mandate and international conventions.
The minister commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the establishment of the centre and the appointment of Dikko as its pioneer coordinator.
Earlier, the NCCSALW coordinator had solicited support of the minister toward stabilising operations of the new outfit.
Dikko said the National Assembly was considering transforming the centre into a commission, adding that he would be focused on pursuing its mandate.
According to him, NCCSALW is leveraging multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholders in implementing all national, UN and ECOWAS plans of action on control of small arms and light weapons.
He disclosed that plans to mainstream the control of small arms and light weapons into national discuss were ongoing.
“Also, efforts to put in place, streamlining mechanism for sharing of weapons by security agencies as well as the establishment of a data base to checkmate proliferation and missing of SALW are on.
“These strategies are aimed at changing the narratives of impunity and audacity of misusers of weapons in the country,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the centre was established on May 3, following the disbandment of the erstwhile Presidential Committee for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons. (NAN)
