The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, condemned corrupt policemen and soldiers for trading government-owned arms used for criminal activities in the nation.
Ribadu said this on Thursday during the arms destruction exercise organized by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) at Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment Giri, Abuja.
He explained that the weapons ended up in the hands of non-state actors due to corrupt elements within the security agencies.
The NSA condemned and rained curses on the security personnel who facilitate the movement of weapons to terrorists, bandits, and other non-state actors.
He assured that the government would do everything possible to ensure the country’s safety, security, and protection.
“We have to find a way of putting a stop to this. We must if we want to recover our country and live in peace and stability.
“The worst human being is a policeman or a soldier who will take arms from his own formations and sell it or hire it out for the bad people to come and kill his own colleagues.
“We must fight these people, but also there are merchants of death and evil from outside the world.
“The proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons remains a major threat to our national security, exacerbating issues such as insurgency, banditry, and other violent crimes,” he said.
Kokumo said the destruction had successfully removed thousands of illegal dangerous weapons from circulation with serious security implications for the country.
According to him, this exercise is in line with the provisions of Article 17 of the ECOWAS Convention on small arms and light weapons as well as the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in SALW.
He thanked the NSA and the military for supporting the Centre in meeting its constitutional mandate.
The event was attended by the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, representatives of the services chiefs and heads of other security agencies.
