The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) says efforts by the federal government in addressing the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons are yielding positive results.
Coordinator, the National Centre for Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, Abba Mohammed Dikko gave the upbeat assessment while briefing newsmen on the activities of the Centre in Kaduna.
The center had recovered over 3,000 illicit small arms and light weapons from various theaters of operations as well as those who willingly surrendered their arms in the past 18 months, he disclosed.
According to the coordinator, the Center collaborates with government agencies and stakeholders at different levels through capacity building to nip core societal issues of concern in the bud.
He pledged that the center would continue to “identify the ingenuity of people and mainstream them into the military-industrial complex” with a view to becoming self-reliant in weapons manufacturing and thus reduce importation.
He also pointed out that the Centre was in the process of providing a database for legitimate and illegitimate arms in the country so as to advise the government on the lines to take in terms of weapon and ammunition management.
Dikko, a retired major-general, added that the Centre had also established zonal offices across the six geo-political zones to extend its outreach, with the mandate to address “peculiar challenges” affecting each zone.