From Idongesit Inyang
CALABAR
An agency of the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) has charged President Muhammadu Buhari tointensify the fight against proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country.
The Organised Crime West African Response to Trafficking (OCWAR-T) gave the charge during the joint planning retreat on “Enhancing Small Arms Control in Nigeria,” at Transcorp Hotel, Calabar, recently.
According to the agency, the peace and security of the country and the ECOWAS region were being threatened.
Harping on the topic, “Strengthening Small Arms Control in Nigeria,” Chief of Division, Small Arms of OCWAR-T, Nanan PieX Joseph Ahoba stated that guidelines should be strictlyfollowed.
He said that if the guideline is followed, insecurity and crimes troubling the country and the region of ECOWAS, would become a thing of the past, adding that subsequent actions should be presented before Nigerian technical and civil society partners.
Ahoba also said that it is only through unity and pooling of resources that threat of arms and human trafficking issues can be addressed.
He stressed the need for the checking of arms proliferation stating that with this, vices like kidnapping, drugs and human trafficking among others, by member states that make up the Commission will be handled for the restoration of peace in the ECOWAS region.
A communiqué issued at the end of retreat stated the need for the creation of national centre on small arms into fully-fledged National Commission on small arms and passage of a Nigeria firearms bill.
Others were the development of joint proposals to enhance interventions on SALW control in Nigeria.
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