By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has warned that cross-border arms trafficking threatens Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, calling for stronger regional cooperation to disrupt illegal weapons supply networks.
Disu spoke on Monday in Abuja while opening a five-day weapons identification and tracing programme involving 12 African countries.
He said illegal weapons could be used to intimidate voters, attack political opponents and disrupt polling, putting electoral officials and materials at risk.
The IGP noted that porous borders and trafficking routes allow weapons to move across countries, making joint security efforts essential.
He said tracing illegal weapons would help investigators identify trafficking networks, their financiers and the routes used to supply criminals.
Disu urged African countries to strengthen intelligence sharing, coordinate investigations and provide legal assistance to prevent criminals from exploiting national borders.
He added that illicit arms also fuel terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and organised crime across the continent.
The five-day Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification and Tracing (SALW-IT) Simulation Programme runs from October 12 to 16 at the Nigeria Police Simulation Centre in Abuja.
Participants from Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, Mali, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Niger, Libya, Benin and the Republic of the Congo are attending the programme.
The training aims to improve participants’ ability to identify, mark, register and trace small arms, light weapons and ammunition.
Disu said the police would extend the skills acquired to officers across commands and formations to strengthen weapons recovery, intelligence gathering and election-security operations ahead of the 2027 polls.
He commended the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC), INTERPOL, relevant African Union entities and experts from the German Armed Forces Verification Centre for supporting the programme.
The IGP reaffirmed the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to regional cooperation against illicit arms trafficking and other cross-border crimes.
