Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, has raised concerns over the increasing movement of illegal firearms from Northern Nigeria to the South-West, warning that the trend poses a serious threat to national security.
Speaking during a security engagement, the police chief said intelligence reports indicate that weapons are being transported from conflict-ridden areas, including Zamfara State and Maiduguri, through both road and water routes into the South-West.
Disu warned that criminal networks are exploiting the country’s transport corridors to move illicit arms, fuelling violent crimes such as kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry and communal clashes.
He said security agencies have intensified surveillance and intelligence-led operations along major highways, waterways and other vulnerable entry points to intercept the illegal weapons and dismantle the syndicates behind the trafficking.
The IGP also called for stronger collaboration among security agencies, state governments, traditional rulers and local communities, urging Nigerians to provide credible information that could help prevent the circulation of illegal firearms.
He reaffirmed the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to tackling arms trafficking and protecting lives and property, stressing that those involved in the illicit trade would be identified, arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
The warning comes amid growing concerns over the proliferation of small arms across the country, with security experts repeatedly linking the illegal flow of weapons to rising insecurity in several parts of Nigeria.
