“The Danger Within”: ECOWAS Warns as Diversion of Legal Arms Threatens National Security Across West Africa

The Economic Community of West African States has called on member states to guard against the diversion of lawfully acquired arms for illicit purposes, saying such diversion poses a grave danger to national security.

Nigeria’s NCCSALW has destroyed more than 17,000 illicit, unserviceable, obsolete and decommissioned weapons, as well as over 20,000 rounds of illicit ammunition since its inception in 2021.

A Threat from Within

The threat to national security in West Africa is not only coming from across borders, it is coming from within.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has called on member states to guard against the diversion of lawfully acquired arms for illicit purposes, saying such diversion poses a grave danger to national security.

The warning was delivered on Monday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during a five-day training on Physical Security, Stockpile Management and Property Management for National Security in Nigeria, organised by the ECOWAS Small Arms Division in partnership with the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies.

The Diversion Problem

The Acting Head of the ECOWAS Small Arms Division, Abayomi Adeomi, said the training came at a time when the region was facing continued and complex security challenges, adding that attention should not only be focused on the illegal importation of arms but also on their diversion from authorised stockpiles.

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“While most attention is often paid to weapons trafficked across borders, we must equally remain vigilant about the diversion of weapons from legally authorised stockpiles of member states,” Adeomi said.

“Comprehensive and effective stockpile management is therefore not just a mere technical administrative function. The core elements of national security, conflict prevention, peace-building, accountable security sector governance, accurate inventory records, discipline across the control of national stockpiles held by member states, routine inspections, safe handling procedures and competent, trained personnel, as well as the timely destruction of obsolete and surplus weapons, together form a vital barrier against diversion, theft, loss and accidental explosions,” he added.

Nigeria’s Response

The Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), Johnson Kukomo, said the centre had destroyed more than 17,000 illicit, unserviceable, obsolete and decommissioned weapons, as well as over 20,000 rounds of illicit ammunition, since its inception in 2021.

The centre was established in 2021 to provide a more permanent and robust institutional framework for combating the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

The responsibility had previously been undertaken principally through the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PRESCAL), which was inaugurated in 2013.

A Lesson for Nigeria

The diversion of legal arms into illicit hands is a problem that Nigeria cannot afford to ignore. The same weapons that are meant to protect citizens are finding their way into the hands of criminals, bandits and terrorists.

The same officials who are responsible for stockpile management will never allow their own families to be victims of the weapons they have lost. Their families are protected.

For Nigeria, the lesson is clear: effective stockpile management is not just a technical issue, it is a matter of national security. The destruction of over 17,000 weapons is commendable, but the work is far from over.

The same leaders who talk about security must ensure that the weapons meant to protect the people do not end up being used against them.