Eko Hot Blog reports that troops across various theatres of operations in the country in separate operations have recovered a total of 66,692 arms and ammunition from non-state actors.
A breakdown of the figures revealed that a total of 3,117 dangerous arms and 63,575 ammunition were captured by troops.
Some of the non-state actors the arms and ammunition were recovered from are terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and Indigenous People of Biafra combatants among others. The figures are based on the reported recoveries made by troops during their operations in various theatres between January and April 2024.
The recovered arms included 1,619 AK-47 rifles, 24 Automatic Pump Action guns, and 47 locally fabricated guns among others. The ammunition recovered ranged from 36,007 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition to 12,698 rounds of 7.62mm NATO.
Experts have attributed the proliferation of arms and ammunition in Nigeria to the increasing rates of crime across the country. They have suggested a serious mop-up of the weapons in circulation, the enhancement of security at the country’s porous borders, and stricter regulations on firearms to address this issue.
According to a 2023 report by SBM Intelligence, an Africa-focused market/security intel gathering and strategic consulting firm, an estimated 6.1 million small arms are in the possession of non-state actors in Nigeria.
Click here to watch video of the week
No fewer than 30 people have been killed in several communities across two Local Government…
Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior has been ruled out of Wednesday’s Champions League clash against…
Anthony Joshua may be approaching the final year of his boxing career, according to his…