The inspector-general of police (IGP), Tunji Disu, has recognized disrupting cross-border arms trafficking as essential to stopping electoral violence and securing Nigeria’s 2027 basic elections.
Disu said this yesterday in Abuja whereas opening a five-day Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification and Tracing (SALW-IT) Simulation Programme involving safety personnel from 12 African nations.
The programme, scheduled from twelfth October to October 16, 2026, is designed to strengthen members’ capability to establish, mark, register and hint small arms, mild weapons and ammunition by way of technical coaching and sensible simulations on the Nigeria Police Simulation Centre.
Participating nations embrace Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, Mali, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Niger, Libya, Benin and the Republic of the Congo.
The IGP warned that the proliferation of illicit firearms poses a big menace to Nigeria’s electoral course of, noting that such weapons are sometimes used to intimidate voters, assault political opponents, disrupt polling and goal electoral officers and supplies.
He attributed the continued motion of unlawful weapons partly to porous borders and established trafficking routes, stressing that the size of the problem requires coordinated motion amongst neighbouring nations.
According to him, efficient weapons identification and tracing would assist safety businesses uncover trafficking networks, establish financiers and monitor the routes by way of which arms attain legal teams and political thugs.
He mentioned that disrupting these provide chains forward of the 2027 elections would strengthen efforts to guard voters, electoral personnel, and supplies, whereas making a safer surroundings for the conduct of credible elections.
Disu additionally warned that illicit arms trafficking extends past election-related violence, contributing to terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and organised crime throughout the continent.
He referred to as for stronger regional cooperation by way of intelligence sharing, coordinated investigations and mutual authorized help to make sure that criminals couldn’t exploit nationwide borders to flee justice.
The police IGP emphasised that such collaboration should function by way of established authorized and institutional frameworks to facilitate the lawful identification, investigation and apprehension of suspects concerned in transnational crimes.
He additional disclosed plans for Inspectors-General of Police from West and East African nations to convene and deliberate on frequent crime-related challenges, with a view to growing coordinated responses to cross-border safety threats.
Regarding the implementation of the coaching, Disu mentioned the data acquired by members could be prolonged to frontline officers by way of structured coaching and data sharing throughout police instructions and formations.
He mentioned the initiative would enhance officers’ capability to establish and hint recovered weapons, generate actionable intelligence and assist routine policing and election-security operations forward of the 2027 polls.
The IGP counseled the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPL), the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC), INTERPOL, related African Union entities and consultants from the German Armed Forces Verification Centre for supporting the programme.
He urged members to share their operational experiences, strengthen skilled relationships and apply the data gained to enhance safety of their respective nations.
Disu reaffirmed the Nigeria Police Force’s dedication to regional and continental efforts to manage illicit arms, pledging continued institutional assist and operational cooperation to translate the coaching into improved public security.
He mentioned the last word goal was to strengthen collective responses to arms trafficking and different transnational crimes whereas supporting a peaceable and safe electoral course of in Nigeria in 2027.
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