The D.G. National Commission Against the Proliferation of Arms, Light Weapons, Adejare Adegbenro, has kicked against the bill proposed by the House of Representatives, seeking civilians to possess arms for self-defence.
Adejare spoke against the bill while speaking during an interview with Arise News on Thursday night.
According to the security expert, the poor database of the nation and its porous borders would not allow for proper control and monitoring of these weapons if the bill is passed.
He said, “We are not at war but we are at a very dangerous point as we speak. The attack from Jos, to what happened in Benue, to what happened in Abuja recently, it’s very alarming. I’ve been in security now for 27 years of service, I’ve never seen it this bad. But it’s crucial for us to take drastic actions, as we speak right now we need to do it.”
When asked what he thought about the statement by the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, who had kicked against the same bill, he said, “What he’s (Gen. Taoreed) saying is actually quite right. I’m on his side on that statement, because where we are in Nigeria today you’re looking at it that….we don’t have any database of even our citizens and we have porous borders, our passports, our IDs are with different people that are not even Nigerians, so how do you actually want to tackle the issue of control of all these ammunition and as far as I’m concerned, it would only come to anarchy because the security architecture is trying their best but if we don’t have this database properly in place, it would be very very difficult for you to give arms to any individual even with the license.
“There’s already a license for individuals, but that’s for a hunting gun. But if you see the kind of gun these people are using, it’s so sophisticated and you wonder how it gets into Nigeria, you know we have porous borders.”
Recall that, Senator Ned Nwoko of Delta North had urged for a legislative bill that would authorize civilians to legally possess and carry firearms.
This proposal comes in the wake of the devastating Plateau killings on December 24, which claimed over 100 civilian lives.
Nwoko said, “An amendment bill allowing civilian firearm ownership must be introduced in the Senate.”
However, Gen. Lagbaja during a Channels TV programme on Sunday stated that “I do not support that. I think that is a call for anarchy.”
