Insecurity Clampdown: Federal Government Destroys 1,419 Illicit Weapons, Recovers 5,449 Firearms to Safeguard National Economy

In an aggressive bid to dismantle the infrastructure of violence disrupting Nigeria’s economic and social stability, the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) has announced the destruction of 1,419 illicit weapons and the recovery of an additional 5,449 firearms. The Director-General of the Centre, retired DIG Johnson Kokumo, disclosed these milestone achievements during a high-profile Joint Security News Briefing in Abuja. The briefing, designed to update citizens on ongoing security efforts, underscores a renewed federal commitment to reclaiming the nation's security architecture.

According to Kokumo, the 1,419 weapons were publicly incinerated during the second quarter arms destruction exercise. This strategic move brings the total number of illicit weapons decommissioned by the NCCSALW since 2022 to over 19,000. By removing these instruments of terror from circulation, the federal government aims to systematically starve non-state actors, bandits, and syndicates of the firepower used to terrorize agrarian communities and trade routes.

The operations also yielded massive recoveries from various security agencies, showcasing an unprecedented level of inter-agency synergy. The Nigeria Police Force handed over 5,050 unserviceable, obsolete, and decommissioned automatic weapons to the Centre. Furthermore, vigilant officers of the Nigeria Customs Service intercepted and transferred 399 JOJEF automatic firearms, proving that coordinated institutional oversight is beginning to choke the supply lines of illegal arms traffickers.