The United Nations (UN) has raised the alarm over the illicit proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in Nigeria, with over 350 million and 70 per cent of estimated 500 million of such weapons said to be circulating in West Africa domiciled in the country.

Director of United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), Ms Olatokunbo Ige, gave this startling statistics at the ongoing national consultation on Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM) in Abuja, organised by the agency and Presidential Committee on Smalls Arms and Light Weapons (PRESCOM).

Ige said the country was awash with illicit weapons which had found its way into unauthorised hands on non-state actors that were threatening the existence of the country, as well as lives and properties of the people.

She said: “The illicit proliferation of SALW has had a dramatic impact on peace and security in Africa, threatening not only the existence of the state, but also the livelihoods of millions of people across the continent.

“Nigerian is one of the countries that is experiencing some of the most devastating effects of the proliferation of SALW as a result of spill over effect of the recent crises in Libya and Mali, as well as unresolved internal conflicts in different parts of the country, especially in the North-East, Niger Delta and Southern regions.

“While reliable data on the numbers of these weapons circulating freely in the country is unavailable, analysts have in recent times estimated that of the about 500 million weapons that may be circulating in West Africa in 2010, some 70 per cent of these could be found in Nigeria,” she added.

She warned that “as alarming as these figures seem, it is very clear that if left unchecked, this scourge will not only jeopardise the developmental gains achieved over the last 50 years, but will also impede the nation’s capacity to achieve its developmental targets and therefore, negatively impact on the future generations.”