Nigeria destroys 17,000 decommissioned weapons, 20,000 rounds of illicit ammunition

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has called on member states to strengthen controls to prevent the diversion of lawfully acquired arms for illicit use, warning that mismanaged official stockpiles pose a growing regional security risk.

The appeal came during a five-day In-Security Training on Physical Security, Stockpile Management, and Property Management for National Security in Nigeria, organised in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by the ECOWAS Commission’s Small Arms Division.

The programme brought together personnel from the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, and other security and paramilitary agencies from Rivers State and the wider Niger Delta.

Reinforcing the message, the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) disclosed that it has destroyed more than 17,000 unserviceable, obsolete, and decommissioned weapons, along with over 20,000 rounds of illicit ammunition, as part of Nigeria’s ongoing effort to curb the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

The Acting Head of the ECOWAS Small Arms Division, Abayomi Adeomi, commended the Federal Government of Nigeria, NCCSALW, and the Rivers State Government for their support in hosting the capacity-building programme.

He noted that the collaboration between ECOWAS and the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies has translated regional commitments into practical training for member states.

“While most attention is often paid to weapons trafficked across borders, we must equally remain vigilant about the diversion of weapons from legally authorised stockpiles of member states,” Adeomi said.

He stressed that stockpile management “is not just a mere technical administrative function,” but a core element of national security, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and accountable security sector governance.

Adeomi outlined the pillars of effective arms control in government custody: accurate inventory systems, disciplined controls over national stockpiles, routine inspections, safe handling procedures, competent and well-trained personnel, and the timely destruction of obsolete and surplus weapons.

Together, he said, these measures “form a vital barrier against diversion, theft, loss, and accidental, unexpected explosions.”

Representing the Director-General of the Centre, Johnson Kokumo, the Zonal Director (South-South) of the NCCSALW, Alex Inemo Ebimiebo, while providing an update on national actions, said the centre has destroyed over 17,000 unserviceable, obsolete, and decommissioned weapons, as well as more than 20,000 rounds of illicit ammunition since its inception.

He explained that Nigeria established the NCCSALW in 2021 to create a permanent, robust institutional framework to address the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. Before the centre’s establishment, the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PRESCOM), inaugurated in 2013, served as a multi-agency mechanism coordinating national efforts against illicit proliferation.