Abuja witnessed a striking display of Nigeria’s ongoing fight against illegal weapons on Wednesday, as National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu oversaw the public destruction of 2,819 illicit, decommissioned, and unserviceable small arms and light weapons at the Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment in Giri, pushing the country’s cumulative total of destroyed weapons to 19,000 since the exercise began.
The destruction, carried out by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, was framed by Ribadu, represented at the event by Presidential Amnesty Programme Administrator Dr. Dennis Otuaro, as a direct blow against the infrastructure sustaining organized violence across the country. He described illegal weapons as the essential lifeline for terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers alike, arguing that removing them from circulation carries consequences well beyond the individual weapons themselves. “Every weapon recovered and destroyed by the security agencies represents a threat permanently neutralized. We are crushing threats one weapon at a time,” he said.
According to Ribadu, the weapons destruction exercise fits within a broader security strategy personally approved by President Bola Tinubu, one built around intelligence-led operations, tighter coordination between security agencies, efforts to cut off funding sources for criminal networks, and deeper cooperation with international partners. He credited that approach with tangible results already visible across the country, from weakening terrorist networks to reinforcing border security infrastructure, while stressing that the strategy continues to adapt as new threats emerge.
Within that framework, Ribadu positioned weapons destruction as a quieter but no less critical component of the overall effort. “The control and destruction of illicit small arms and light weapons is an essential, and sometimes underappreciated, pillar of this strategy. It complements our kinetic operations by steadily shrinking the pool of weapons available to those who would sow terror or violence in our communities,” he said.
He singled out Director-General DIG Johnson Kokumo (retd) and his team at the Centre for their sustained work, while also acknowledging the contributions of the Nigeria Police Force, the Armed Forces, the DSS, Customs, and other agencies involved in recovering the weapons in the first place.
Looking beyond the immediate exercise, Ribadu sought to frame the destruction as evidence of consistent follow-through rather than symbolic gesture. “Let me reassure all Nigerians that our security agencies, under the coordination of this office, remain resolute and united in the constitutional duty to protect lives and property across every part of this country. Exercises such as this, conducted openly and transparently, are proof of consistent follow-through, not mere ceremony. Government understands that public confidence is earned through sustained, visible action, and we remain committed to earning it, one milestone at a time,” he said.
He closed with an appeal to traditional rulers, religious leaders, and citizens more broadly, urging them to pass along timely information to security agencies so that emerging threats can be addressed before they escalate into full-blown operational dangers.
