Politicians and some states have been accused of stockpiling arms ahead of the 2019 general elections by the Directorate of State Service (DSS).
The arms, small and light weapons, are already being used by some individuals to carry out violence in parts of the country.
The DSS Director of Operations, Godwin Eteng, at the investigation of the “frightening influx of small arms and light weapons into the country” by the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Customs and Excise and National Intelligence, said as the elections drew nearer, the influx of the arms in some states is becoming scary.
According to him, security reports revealed that the arms stockpiling is rampant in Nasarawa, Benue, Taraba and Plateau states. Following this discovery, Eteng said the DSS recently conducted 27 operations across the states and arrested 30 suspects, with some of them in the arms business.
He listed communal clashes, terrorism, kidnapping, herdsmen-farmers clashes, political thuggery, militancy and cultism as creating constant demand for arms in the country.
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Eteng said the listed states were acting as gateways for small arms and light weapons being used to fuel various crises in some parts of the country to be smuggled in by herdsmen from Senegal, The Gambia and especially Central Africa.
He told the lawmakers: “When we did our studies, we discovered that three-quarter of the arms used to cause the crises in Southern Kaduna, Zamfara and Plateau states are coming from Nasarawa, Benue, Taraba and Plateau.
“In the last one and a half months, we have conducted more than 27 operations and arrested more than 30 persons involved in the supply of arms and ammunition. Some of them are serving security officers.
“Some agencies have over a period of time recruited people who are cultists and armed robbers and are now wearing uniforms. The question is: are we doing enough checks on our people who are being recruited into security services?
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“We had a situation wherein one of the armories belonging to one of the armed forces, many pistols just got missing with quantities of ammunition and all the pistols are new. In the armoury, no place was broken into, but the weapons were missing, and we’re interested in knowing what happened.”
In his own submission, the Comptroller- General of Customs, Hameed Ali at the hearing, revealed that there were 1,100 border entries in the country, but only 97 are approved entry posts.
Represented by Dangaladima Aminu Abubakar, a Deputy Comptroller, Ali decried the dearth necessary equipment to stem the proliferation of weapons into the country.
He said that the Customs personnel that were found culpable in the import of 661 pump action rifles have been dismissed from service and handed over to the DSS for prosecution.
According to him, the effectiveness of service is being limited by lack of operational vehicles, fast-moving boats, cutting-edge technology and advanced scanning machines at airports, seaports and border points.
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He listed other factors hindering effective operations of the service as inadequate welfare for personnel, as some of them, he said, live in deplorable conditions at the border communities. He advocated more budgetary allocations to the operational activities of the NCS.
While charging the DSS to be more proactive in safeguarding Nigerians from arms abuse by state governors, the Chairman House Committee, Biodun Faleke (APC-Lagos) also asked them to ensure that whatever arms procured are properly acquired to avoid abuse.
The House had on Wednesday 27th September, 2017 mandated its Committees on Customs and Excise to invite the NCS and the DSS bosses to brief the lawmakers on plans to rid the country of the danger of small arms and light weapons build-up.