Taskforce Alerts On Stockpiling Of Arms

Barely 30 days ahead of the 2019 general elections, the Director General of the  National Taskforce on Small Arms , Light and Chemical Weapons (NATFORCE), Dr Emmanuel Okereke has raised alarm on alleged stockpiling of ammunitions by some some  political players ahead of the   elections.
Raising the alarm   yesterday at a press briefing in Abuja,  then he said the alleged  stockpilling of ammunitions by desperate Politicians and their allies  ahead of the elections was facilitated by the porous nature of our borders. 
The NATFORCE boss who indirectly indicted the Nigerian Customs Service said the nation needs   a specific body inform of  a commission, to tackle the menance  
He  insisted that for Nigeria to effectively tackle the menace of proliferation of ammunitions in the country with its attendant crimes , a National Commission for the Prohibition of Illegal importation of Small Arms, Ammunitions and Light Weapons and other related matters , must be established .
He lamented that all other West African countries have already  established the commission to checkmate the proliferation except Nigeria and Gambia. 
His words “Due to lack of a legally established specific body or commission as obtainable in 14 out of the 16 countries in the West African sub-region ,all manner of ammunitions have been illegally brought into the country ahead of the coming elections by high class political players including some state governors  .
“ Unfortunately , while 14 out of the 16 member-sub regional body have complied, Nigeria and Gambia are yet to do the needful in that direction”  .
According to him, the commission he added, was recommended for all West African countries through a resolution passed to that effect  by the Economic Community of West Africa States ( ECOWAS) in December 2017 .
He explained further that even before the ECOWAS ‘s resolution , a bill for the establishment of such commission has long been sponsored by his outfit called National Taskforce .
The bill , he said  is currently in the 8th Senate and has passed second reading in the House of Representatives. 
He further  explained that the bill was earlier introduced in the 6th and 7th National Assembly. but however failed to scale through required legislative procedures. 
According to him, the commission when established  would not be a burden on the finances of the country but rather be  a revenue generating one .
He therefore called on the Senate as it resumes plenary today, to give the bill accelerated legislative action to facilitate the establisment of the commission.

Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja