Spread of light arms in Nigeria worry stakeholders

Emeka Ibemere reports the scary arms buildup in Nigeria as 2015 draws near

The boom, gloom and doom of light arms in Nigeria, seems to have provided the much needed fears for the coming election as the general elections scheduled to begin on February 14, 2015, draws near.

Unknown to many Nigerians, arms and light guns, including dangerous weapons are being stockpiled by politicians, merchants of war, contractors of arms and weapons in readiness for the election.

Not done, the activities of the ethnic militia men in Nigeria are also fueling the hopelessness many Nigerians have expressed concerning the election.

This has made guns of different shapes and sizes to be in the hands of our restive- rebellious youths in different garb of militia formations as: Boko Haram, Odu People’s Congress (OPC), Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the Niger-Delta militants and Ombatse cult, despite the war against terrorism in Nigeria.

 Security experts and stakeholders are worried by the spate of discoveries of these weapons and how they are entering into Nigeria, as if the country is preparing for war.

The news reports on weapons, arms and ammunition being unearthed in the country, including the ones not discovered almost in all the six-geo political regions of, gives great concern.

Recently, security was beefed up in the Kano metropolis after the Nigerian military, stationed at the Aminu Kano International Airport, seized a Russian-registered airplane heading for neighbouring Chad Republic, loaded with huge quantities of arms, ammunition and explosives.

The Defence Headquarters confirmed that security was tightened in the city because the cargo in the plane was suspected, and officials needed time to properly grill the pilot and other crew members in the aircraft.

In June last year, a similar cargo plane with arms was equally detained at the Kano airport, but was later cleared and allowed to proceed to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It was gathered that the latest aircraft, which was detained at the airport, made a stopover in Kano to refuel, but security officials at the airport became suspicious when the pilot refused polite requests to declare the contents of the plane.

The aircraft, which was allegedly heading for N’djamena, the capital of Chad, apparently landed in Kano at about 2a.m – an odd hour in Nigeria – to refuel, and when the pilot refused to cooperate, he was detained along with other crew members in the aircraft.

It would be recalled that Just recently, a close associate of the Chadian President, Alhaje Idriss Déby, was arrested by INTERPOL for providing weapons for Boko Haram.

The man, Mahamat Bichara Gnoti, was allegedly arrested on the Chadian-Sudan border with nineteen modern SAM2 missiles, which he purchased for the terrorist group from the Sudanese Army and was to sell them to the insurgents in Nigeria.

Mahamat Gnoti had claimed that President Idriss Déby gave him the “money to purchase the weapons,” and he repeatedly waved a presidential pass issued to him by the president’s office to pass through border guards.

He was, however, stopped and searched by the guards who found the deadly weapons in his car, and this has prompted an investigation by the Nigerian security to determine whether the arrest could confirm suspicions that Chad had been the main support base for the Boko Haram insurgency.

Although the Chadian President, Alhaje Idriss Déby, has repeatedly denied providing any official support for Boko Haram, it was lately discovered that the group gets a higher portion of its support, and also conducts open recruitment of fighters in the Chad Republic.

The aircraft, with registration number AN 124-100-RAH 2038, was detained at the Kano airport, for proper investigation.

Security experts and stakeholders are worried with the proliferation of arms in Nigeria.  A high placed serving police officer, who declined to be named, said his observation as regards to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria in general dates back to the Niger-Delta with particular reference to the militant groups as mostly responsible for the spread of small arms and light weapons in the Niger Delta, and Nigeria. According to him, most of the weapons are supplied by foreign arms dealers adding that these weapons are used by criminal groups to commit illegal acts, rig election and carry out ethnic agenda. He said to solve the problem of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the Niger Delta, both state and Federal governments have to continue to check the activities of the militants in the region. He also, called for strict border policy at the nation’s borders, especially areas where the country shares borders with Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Togo, Benin Republic and others.

Earlier now, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, the former Lagos State Commissioner of Police had in a telephone interview, told Newswatch Times that the dealers are exploiting the porous of the border and the connivance of some politicians and their agents to allow some arms to enter Nigeria. According to him, politicians in 2007, who wanted power by all means used imported arms into the country and hired it out to their thugs to help them win election at all cost, so that they would continue their corruption run on the soul of the country.

“This is a creation of politicians and it started quite long ago, that is why there is total insecurity throughout the country, politicians use the arms and thugs to win election at all cost to continue with corruption”, Tsav stated.

“The situation is even worse now that President Goodluck Jonathan is in power because he is empowering his Niger-Delta Militants to acquire arms and silence who ever oppose him in 2015.” 

According to Tsav, the huge weapon cache seized in Kano must have the connivance of some security agencies.

“How did such deadly weapons get into Nigeria? Is it due to our porous borders, corruption, and ineffectiveness of the law enforcement agencies or connivance to destabilize our country”? Tsav queried.

Though, the no-nonsense ex-cop salutes the courage and intelligence of the security agents who uncovered the arms cache in Kano State but tasked them to take a discreet investigation to unearth more culprits in other areas of the country.

“I congratulate security agencies for this wonderful job and urge them to conduct discreet investigation which should cover the whole country”. He said.

Tsav is of the opinion too; that it’s high time those supplying arms to the Military and Para-Military organizations in the country such as the Army (NA), Police, Nigerian Navy (NN), Nigeria Customs Services, (NCS), Nigeria Air force (NA) Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), State Security Service (SSS) and other sundry Para-Military organizations to be investigated for the spate of arms infiltration into the country.

“The scope of the investigation should not be restricted to Hezbollah and Boko Haram but also to all Arms contractors for the military and Para-military establishments, including Niger-Delta Militants based on the Asari-Dokubo threats”, Tsav added.

Tsav disclosed that all the nation’s senior military personnel and their colleagues in the Para-military are friends to some of the Lebanese arms contractors. The former Police chief said he is worried that Nigeria’s major arms contractors were the shrewd Iran and Lebanese businessmen.

According to him, they have operated in this country as though they are above the law. “All senior military and Para-military officers are their friends. It’s being alleged that they dominate contract for supply of armament and weapons. They could use defense contracts to smuggle in such weapons. This needs to be investigated”.

Eastern Union, EU, a social political cum cultural association, based in Abuja, while speaking through its leader, Charles Anike, condemned the spread of small guns and weapons in Nigeria. According to the organization, everything is boiled down to the 2015 election, because the election is drawing very close. He said amidst serious insecurity resulting from the Boko Haram insurgence, that the diehard politicians are also not helping matters.

They observed that most of the political leaders are not mincing words in their attempt to clinch power by all means. Anike stated that at every for a, that desperate politicians are declaring their uncompromising stands about 2015.

“There have been several reports of arms importation by the politicians. All the political without exceptions are really preparing for war. Both of them are reportedly stockpiling weapons, meaning that whatever they can’t get through the ballot box, they would get through barrel of the gun and violence”, Anike observed.

“This fear has sent many Nigerians relocating to their native homelands. Exactly what we experienced in 1993, the Eastern Union is for this reason proposing national youth rally for peaceful election to hold at Abuja on 15 January, 2015, where the youths will converge to agree and reject to be instrumental for election violence”.

“We therefore call on the President Goodluck Jonathan, the leaders of all the political parties, government agencies, corporate bodies, professionals, social workers and lovers of peace in and outside Nigeria to support and make the national youth rally a success, as we cannot afford to risk or waste more lives of our people”, Anike pleaded.

It was gathered that one of the ways to check the proliferation of illegal weapons been used by the Boko Haram sects and other criminals in the country was for the Nigerian Immigration and Customs service to be proactive in their surveillance and checks. Survey on the Seme-Badagry, by our correspondent, shows that the Nigeria-Benin Republic border at Seme has over 30 illegal routes, known to some Customs and Immigration officers.

An impeccable source told Newswatch Times that such routes serve as ‘viable illegal toll gates’ for the security officers to rake dubious money at the security expense of the country’s security, unity and co-existence. Checks revealed also that most of the arms ferried into the country come through waterways.

On 28 May 2013 a combined team of the JTF involving the NA of the 3 Brigade in Kano and the Kano state DSS conducted a thorough search of a house located at No 3 Gaya Road off Bompai Road Kano belonging to one Abdul Hassan Taher Fadlalla, a Lebanese national who as of then was out of the country. The report added that after a painstaking search of the whole premises, the search team uncovered an underground bunker in the master’s Bedroom where large quantities of assorted weapons of different types were buried. The bunker was especially allegedly constructed for this purpose.

The investigation also confirms the existence of a Hezbollah Foreign Terrorist Cell in Nigeria. Consequently, the DSS on 16 May 2013 arrested one Mustapha Fawaz, the co-owner of the popular Amigo Supermarket as well as the wonderland Amusement Park all in Abuja. Thus, his arrest and confession unveiled other members of the foreign terrorists’ network which led to the interception of one member of the syndicate named Abdullah Tahini, a Lebanese national at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport with undeclared amount of sixty thousand United States Dollars on him en-route Beirut. Thereafter on 26 May 2013 one Talal Roda, also a Lebanese with Nigerian Passport was arrested in this same house.

Security experts alluded the fact that even though they are found guilty; that Hezbollah terrorists have found home in Nigeria. The truth is that despite the thousands of miles that separate Nigeria from Lebanon, the country is faced with a growing threat from a Hezbollah arms importation in Nigeria.

Thursday 29, November 2012, JTF raided Kwanar Shahada, Jushin Ciki, Zaria, Kaduna, where a bomb making factory was uncovered.

The joint security team also arrested a sixty-year-old man, Umaru Mohammed within the raided premises and recovered Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs at stage one state of readiness to be used for bomb attack.

Investigation revealed that the arms have been entering into the country unnoticed since 2007, such that the importations were coming into the country through seaports, airports, and various borders.

 It started with the British-based arms dealer, identified as Gary Hyde who then was going trial in London, for allegedly helping an organized shipment of thousands of guns from China to Nigeria in 2007, without the necessary license.

  In November 2010, an arm shipment en-route Gambia from its destination in Iran was seized in Nigeria making analysts to begin to ask the question: why must Nigeria always serve as a route to ferry those illegal arms and ammunition?

The same year, Nigeria Police Force in Kano State also impounded a large consignment of military uniform shipped into the country through the Nigeria/Niger Republic border of Kastina State. The Military uniform was seized from a warehouse, close to the Kano Pillars Stadium in the Sabon Gari area of Kano State, and it was alleged to have been smuggled into the country. The police confirmed the arrest of some suspects in connection with the uniform, pointing out that the police are interrogating them. It was gathered that the arrested suspects presented some documents indicating that the Ministry of Defence authorized the consignments. 

Also, recall that the Kano/Jigawa command of Nigerian Customs Services also impounded large quantities of military uniform, comprising of Air force uniform and army camouflage. Customs’ agents at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) apprehended two suspects identified as Magaji Mohammed and Mohammed Auwal.  The Customs Area Comptroller, Kano/Jigawa Command later transferred the impounded uniform and the suspects to the state police command.  High security source in Abuja accused some security agencies of playing ostrich most times to allow dangerous weapons into Nigeria. Daily Newswatch gathered that some customs officials after collecting alleged gratification served as escorts to the passage of such shipment to make sure that the preying eyes of some security officials didn’t see them.

 Findings also show that such illegal shipments are met to pass through the border at a time officials that would stop such practice are not on duty making it a leeway for business in illicit arms deal to triumph. Illegal arm shipment has continued to be a source of huge challenge to security men who are in doubt as to where and how some of these arms found their way into the country.  It is embarrassing developments the rate at which militia groups, miscreants, Boko Haram sects and recently Hezbollah has access to lethal weapons of mass destruction to perpetrate their threats.

 Ubochi John, a staff of a private security organization with a new generation bank on Island area of Lagos, said the arms entering into the country points to the ominous sign of the nation’s crash in 2015 as predicted by American scholars.

Anike, EU leader stated that Nigerian political class are not helping matters y the way they go about indulging in arms importation to equip their thugs for serious opposition against the party at the centre.  “Political thugs armed with the weapons created phony groups and militia gangs and backed by their influential and wealthy political godfathers launched an unprecedented attack on innocent citizens just to make the government ‘ungovernable,” he stated.

According to some security analysts, the situation is frightening. The arms proliferation will not do us right as a nation but serve the interest of those who want Nigeria disintegrate. “There have been so many predications that Nigeria entity would collapse in 2015 and since after the predictions, it has been one problem to another”.