Olatunji Disu, Inspector-General of Police, has identified the disruption of illicit arms trafficking across national borders as a critical step towards safeguarding Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
He warned that the proliferation of illegal firearms could undermine electoral security and threaten the country’s democratic process.
Disu said the unrestricted movement of illicit weapons through porous borders and established trafficking routes posed significant risks to peaceful elections, as armed groups and criminal networks could deploy such weapons to intimidate voters, harass political opponents, disrupt polling and attack electoral personnel and materials.
The police chief spoke in Abuja on Monday while declaring open the Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification and Tracing (SALW-IT) Simulation Programme, a five-day initiative scheduled to run from October 12 to 16, 2026.
The programme brought together law enforcement personnel from 12 African countries to strengthen their capacity to identify, mark, register and trace small arms, light weapons and ammunition, with a focus on improving investigations and disrupting the supply networks that sustain armed violence across the continent.
Read also: Police arrest 12 suspects over kidnapping, recover AK-47 rifles in Kaduna
The participating countries are Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, Mali, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Niger, Libya, Benin and the Republic of the Congo.
Disu stressed that preparations for the 2027 general elections must extend beyond the deployment of security personnel to polling stations and other sensitive locations, noting that addressing the sources of illicit firearms was essential to preventing violence before, during and after the elections.
He warned that the continued circulation of illegal weapons could weaken efforts to protect voters, electoral officials and election materials, particularly where criminal groups exploit poorly controlled borders and cross-border networks to move firearms between countries.
According to him, the ability of security agencies to identify and trace recovered weapons would be critical to uncovering the networks responsible for supplying firearms to criminal groups.
He explained that effective tracing could help investigators establish the origins of recovered weapons, identify trafficking routes, uncover the individuals and networks involved in their movement and expose the financiers behind the illicit trade.
Such information, he said, would enable law enforcement agencies to move beyond recovering weapons from crime scenes to dismantling the supply chains that make firearms available to terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements.
Disrupting these networks ahead of the 2027 elections would strengthen the capacity of security agencies to prevent the movement of weapons into areas where they could be used to threaten the electoral process.
The IGP emphasised that the challenge of illicit arms trafficking could not be effectively addressed by individual countries acting independently, given the transnational nature of the networks involved.
Read also: Police block venue of anti-Tinubu meeting in Kano, conveners protest
He called for stronger regional and continental cooperation through timely intelligence sharing, coordinated investigations and mutual legal assistance, stressing that criminals and arms traffickers should not be allowed to exploit national borders to evade detection and prosecution.
Disu noted that differences in national jurisdictions and law enforcement capacities could create opportunities for trafficking networks to operate across borders, making sustained cooperation among police institutions essential to closing gaps in the regional security architecture.
He said the collaboration of law enforcement agencies across Africa would improve the exchange of operational information, strengthen investigations and support a more coordinated response to the proliferation of illicit weapons.
Beyond the potential threat to elections, the police chief observed that small arms and light weapons continued to fuel terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal conflicts and organised crime across Africa.
He said the widespread availability of such weapons had worsened insecurity in several parts of the continent, allowing criminal groups to sustain violent operations and threaten communities.
The police chief therefore called for a collective response that would combine technical expertise, intelligence cooperation and coordinated enforcement efforts to prevent illicit firearms from reaching criminal organisations.
As part of efforts to strengthen regional cooperation, Disu disclosed plans for Inspectors-General of Police from West and East African countries to convene and deliberate on crime-related challenges.
The proposed engagement, he said, would provide an opportunity for police leaders to examine common security threats and develop coordinated approaches to tackling transborder criminal activities.
Read also: Kano police recover three stolen vehicles, arrest four suspects
The initiative is expected to strengthen cooperation among police institutions, particularly in addressing criminal networks whose operations extend beyond the jurisdiction of individual countries.
Disu also said the knowledge and skills acquired during the SALW-IT Simulation Programme would be extended to frontline police officers through structured training and knowledge-sharing across police commands and formations.
He explained that the practical value of the programme would depend not only on the participation of officers at the training but also on the ability of police institutions to apply the lessons learned in their daily operations.
Transferring the skills to officers in the field would strengthen the capacity of the police to identify and document recovered firearms, preserve relevant information and support investigations aimed at tracing weapons to their sources.
The approach would also help improve the consistency of firearms identification and tracing procedures across police formations, strengthening the quality of information available to investigators and other relevant security agencies.
The IGP 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 providing technical and institutional support for the programme.
He acknowledged the importance of partnerships among African and international institutions in building the expertise required to address the cross-border dimensions of illicit arms trafficking.
Read also: Police arrest, release Rochas Okorocha on bail over alleged forgery, impersonation
Disu urged participants to take full advantage of the five-day programme by exchanging operational experiences, learning from one another and developing professional networks that would sustain cooperation beyond the training period.
He said the relationships established during the exercise should contribute to stronger communication and collaboration among participating countries in their efforts to combat arms trafficking and other transnational crimes.
The police chief reaffirmed the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to regional and continental initiatives aimed at controlling the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, pledging continued institutional support and operational collaboration.
Related News
