Submit illegal arms in your possession now – NCCSALW tells owners, local fabricators

Adebayo Adenrele

…says disarmament, catalyst to address climate crisis




In a bid to eliminate offensive arms in the society, the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), Southwest Zone, has called on local fabricators of small arms and those in possession of illegal weapons to submit them.

The southwest zonal coordinator, Ben Akinlade made the call on Tuesday at a press conference in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, in commemoration of 2024 International day for disarmament and non-proliferation of arms.

Akinlade stated that possession of illegal arms, such as bullets, magazine, locally fabricated weapon, pump action, rifles, pistols, pose threats to life, hence the need to recover them in order to maintain peace and strengthen security, especially in the wake of escalating violence and crime in Ekiti State.

“On every 5th March, the International Day for Disarmament and non-proliferation awareness plays a role in deepening the global public’s understanding about how disarmament efforts contribute to enhancing peace and security, preventing and ending armed conflicts, and curbing human suffering caused by weapons.”

The centre coordinator added that disarmament of offensive arms from local fabricators can be a powerful tool to address the climate crisis and promote sustainable development.

This, according to him can decrease carbon emissions and minimise the environmental impact of illegal possession of arms.

“There are procedures to ensure that arms are controlled because people purchase arms illegally.

“When these illegal weapons are fired, they produce chemicals which further lead to climate crisis.

“Therefore, disarmament can be a powerful solution to address the climate crisis and promote sustainable development.

“By ending or reducing the scale of military operations and weapons production, we can significantly decrease carbon emissions and minimise the environmental impact of these activities.” He said

Commenting on the centre’s stance on the bill seeking arms bearing by the citizens for self defence, Akinlade said once the bill is passed into law, the centre will reel out its measures to curtail any order of excesses.

His words, “I’m not saying it’s good or bad, but once they make it a law, we follow. I will put our own measures in place.

“It’s a democratic mechanism, the centre has no power over it.

“The people in charge are lawmakers, once the president give assent to it, we will check out how to curtail any order of excesses.” He said