The Economic Community of West African States has warned member states against the diversion of weapons and ammunition from legally authorised government stockpiles into the hands of criminals, terrorists and other unauthorised groups.
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The regional body said the diversion of lawfully acquired weapons for illicit purposes poses a serious threat to national security, conflict prevention and peacebuilding across West Africa.
The warning was issued during a five-day training on physical security, stockpile management and property management for national security personnel held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The programme was organised by the Small Arms Division of the ECOWAS Commission in partnership with the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies.
Acting Head of the ECOWAS Small Arms Division, Abayomi Adeomi, said regional efforts against arms proliferation must extend beyond weapons trafficked illegally across national borders to include arms diverted from officially authorised stockpiles.
“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 explained that effective stockpile management was not merely a technical or administrative responsibility but a fundamental component of national security, accountable security-sector governance and conflict prevention.
According to him, accurate inventories, strict control of national stockpiles, routine inspections, safe handling procedures, properly trained personnel and the timely destruction of obsolete and surplus weapons provide safeguards against theft, loss, diversion and accidental explosions.
Adeomi commended the Federal Government, the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons and the Rivers State Government for supporting the training.
He said the collaboration between ECOWAS and the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies had helped translate the region’s arms-control commitments into practical capacity-building programmes for member states.
The Director-General of the NCCSALW, Johnson Kokumo, disclosed that the Centre had destroyed more than 17,000 illicit, unserviceable, obsolete and decommissioned weapons, alongside over 20,000 rounds of illicit ammunition.
Kokumo, who was represented by the South-South Zonal Director of the Centre, Alex Inemo Ebimiebo, said the destruction exercises were intended to remove the weapons permanently from circulation and prevent their diversion.
He said the establishment of the Centre in 2021 provided Nigeria with a permanent institutional framework for addressing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
Before its establishment, the responsibility was largely undertaken by the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons, which was inaugurated in 2013 as a multi-agency body coordinating national efforts against illicit arms proliferation.
Ebimiebo said the Centre had prioritised capacity building for the Armed Forces, police and other law-enforcement agencies, particularly in weapons and ammunition management, stockpile security, arms marking and tracing, record-keeping and the identification of illicit weapons.
He stressed that sustainable arms control requires trained personnel capable of applying established standards in armouries, ammunition depots and other storage facilities.
The General Officer Commanding 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Everest Okoro, warned that poorly managed stockpiles increase the risk of theft, diversion, unauthorised access, deterioration and accidental explosions.
Represented by the Commander of 6 Division Garrison and Sector 3, Joint Task Force, South-South Operation Delta Safe, Brigadier-General A.A. Bello, Okoro said disciplined stockpile management protects lives and military equipment while preventing weapons from reaching criminals and terrorists.
The training brought together 20 participants from the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force, police, State Security Service and other security and paramilitary agencies operating in Rivers State and the Niger Delta
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