Weapons Are Moving Everywhere — IGP Raises Red Flag Over Massive Influx Of AK-47-Style Weapons From Northern Conflict Zones To South

• IGP Tunji Disu warns that illicit arms are being transported from insurgency and banditry hotspots in Maiduguri and Zamfara to the South-West through road and water routes, describing the trend as a growing national security threat.

• The police chief blames Nigeria’s porous borders for the steady influx of illegal weapons, calls for real-time intelligence sharing among security agencies, and urges a nationwide crackdown on arms traffickers and black-market dealers.

• Disu raises concern over the increasing sophistication of locally manufactured AK-47-style rifles, saying some recovered firearms are almost indistinguishable from imported assault weapons and even carry serial numbers.

• The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons says it has destroyed more than 16,000 obsolete and illicit firearms, including 11,907 weapons handed over by the Nigeria Police Force, as authorities intensify arms recovery ahead of the 2027 general elections.

July 17, () — The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, has raised a red flag over the massive movement of illicit arms, including sophisticated AK-47-style weapons, from conflict-ridden parts of Northern Nigeria to the southern region of the country, warning that the growing proliferation of illegal firearms poses a serious threat to national security and could fuel violent crimes if left unchecked.

The IGP issued the warning on Thursday during a meeting with the Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) Babatunde Johnson, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.

According to Disu, intelligence gathered by security agencies shows that illegal weapons are being transported from insurgency and banditry theatres in Maiduguri, Borno State, and Zamfara State to other parts of Nigeria, particularly the South-West, using both road and water routes.

Describing the development as deeply troubling, the police chief said the movement of illicit weapons had become widespread and required stronger collaboration among security agencies to stop the firearms before they reached criminal groups.

“Arms are moving everywhere in the country, using the roads, the waters and even other routes. Arms are moving from the battle areas, Maiduguri, Zamfara, down to the West. Most of the time they come by road and by water as well, so timely intelligence will help us solve this”, Disu said.

He stressed that security agencies must embrace real-time intelligence sharing to improve response time and prevent arms traffickers from exploiting gaps in coordination.

“Intelligence shared is invaluable. Everywhere in the world, intelligence sharing is going to real-time intelligence sharing so that we can quickly nip it in the bud”, he added.

The IGP noted that intelligence-led operations had become increasingly important in tracking organised criminal syndicates involved in arms trafficking, kidnapping, terrorism and banditry.

Disu blamed Nigeria’s porous land and maritime borders for the continued influx of illegal firearms, saying traffickers had continued to exploit unmanned border routes despite intensified security operations.

According to him, criminal networks remain determined to ensure that weapons find their way into the hands of those carrying out kidnappings, armed robberies, terrorism and other violent crimes across the country.

“Our borders are so porous, and these people have made up their minds to traffic arms. They will do anything possible to ensure the arms come into the country and get into the hands of those who want to use them to commit crimes,” he said.

He called for enhanced border surveillance, improved technology deployment and closer collaboration among law enforcement agencies to dismantle transnational arms trafficking networks.

The IGP also expressed concern over the rapid advancement in the production of locally fabricated firearms, revealing that police operatives were now recovering weapons that closely resemble imported military-grade assault rifles.

He warned that the sophistication of the weapons was making it increasingly difficult for investigators to distinguish locally manufactured rifles from imported ones.

“As police officers, we are recovering arms that we are even finding it difficult to identify because they look almost like imported arms. People are now producing weapons that look just like AK-47 rifles, complete with serial numbers”, he noted.

Disu described illegal arms manufacturers and operators of underground weapons markets as major enablers of insecurity and called for aggressive enforcement measures to dismantle the networks producing and distributing the firearms.

The police chief further urged stricter oversight of police armouries nationwide, warning that some serving security personnel had previously been implicated in the diversion and illegal sale of government-owned firearms. He said regular inspections, accountability measures and tighter control of armouries were essential to preventing official weapons from falling into criminal hands.

“We need to go back and look at our armouries, who is manning them and carry out periodic checks. Once in a while, officers of various agencies have been involved in the sale of illegal arms”, he stated.

Disu disclosed that the Nigeria Police Force had intensified operations to recover illegally possessed firearms ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying the initiative was aimed at reducing the risk of election-related violence.

He added that the Force would continue its civil disarmament programme, encouraging individuals illegally in possession of firearms to voluntarily surrender them while maintaining pressure on criminal groups involved in arms trafficking.

Centre Destroys More Than 16,000 Weapons

Earlier, the Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, DIG Babatunde Johnson (retd), said the agency had made significant progress in reducing the stockpile of illicit firearms across the country.

Johnson disclosed that since its establishment, the centre had destroyed more than 16,000 obsolete, decommissioned and unserviceable weapons, preventing them from re-entering circulation.

He further revealed that the Nigeria Police Force had transferred 11,907 illicit, obsolete, decommissioned and unserviceable firearms to the centre for destruction.

According to him, the cache comprised 8,438 automatic weapons and 3,489 locally fabricated firearms, making the Nigeria Police Force one of the centre’s largest contributors in the national arms destruction programme.

“Out of this, given to the centre by the Nigerian Police Force, we have 8,438 automatic weapons and 3,489 locally fabricated weapons”, Johnson said.