The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has called for stronger regional cooperation to tackle illicit arms trafficking, warning that the proliferation of small arms and light weapons continues to fuel terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and organised crime across Africa.
Disu made the call on Monday in Abuja while declaring open the five-day Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification and Tracing (SALW-IT) Simulation Programme, scheduled to run from October 12 to 16, 2026.
In a statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the police chief said effective weapons tracing would help investigators uncover trafficking networks, financiers and supply routes, thereby enabling targeted action against illicit arms trafficking.
The programme is designed to strengthen participants’ capacity to identify, mark, register and trace small arms, light weapons and ammunition.
Participants are drawn from Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, Mali, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Niger, Libya, Benin and the Republic of the Congo.
The training combines technical instruction with practical exercises, including simulations at the Nigeria Police Simulation Centre.
Disu also highlighted the importance of the exercise to Nigeria’s preparations for upcoming elections, noting that disrupting illicit arms supplies would help prevent electoral violence and intimidation.Nigerian Army News
He said the initiative would also help protect voters and electoral personnel while supporting the security conditions required for peaceful, free and fair elections.
According to the IGP, the skills acquired during the programme would be extended to officers across police commands and formations through structured training and knowledge-sharing.
He said this would improve officers’ ability to identify, trace and recover weapons, develop actionable intelligence and support routine policing and election-security operations.
The police chief further called for closer sub-regional and continental cooperation through timely intelligence sharing, coordinated investigations and mutual assistance in locating and lawfully apprehending suspects involved in transborder crimes.
He stressed that cooperation through established legal and institutional channels was essential to preventing criminals from exploiting national borders to evade justice.
Disu also disclosed that Inspectors-General of Police from West and East African countries would meet to deliberate on crime-related issues and develop strategies for tackling transborder criminal activities.
The discussions, he said, would support coordinated responses to shared security threats across the regions.
The IGP commended the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC), INTERPOL, relevant African Union entities and experts from the German Armed Forces Verification Centre for supporting the programme.
He urged participants to share operational experiences, build lasting professional relationships and apply the knowledge gained in their respective countries.
Disu reaffirmed the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to regional and continental arms-control initiatives, pledging sustained institutional support and operational cooperation to translate the training into improved public safety and election security
