What Govt Is Doing Over 3m Illicit Weapons In Wrong Hands -Ribadu

Do you know there are over 3million illicit weapons in wrong hands in the country, that is, with people capable of misusing them?
Well, that is the worrisome revelation by The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
Mr Ribadu who spoke with journalists on the sidelines of the High-Level African Counter-Terrorism Meeting, which opened on Monday in Abuja, made more revelations.
According to him, one of such illicit weapons, the notorious AK 47 rifle that used to sell for less than N500,000 last year now goes for as high as N5 million, he said..
Incidentally, the last bit on the cost of rifles is indication of success in the anti-terrorism battles of the government, the NSA added.
Also, Nigeria’s terrorism-related deaths had dropped from 2600 monthly to 200, showing progress in the efforts of the security agencies.
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The event at which Ribadu spoke, ran under the theme: “Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Institution Building to Address the Evolving Threat of Terrorism in Africa”,
It was organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the UN Office for Counter-Terrorism.
On other initiatives against illicit weapons, he said the government had been blocking access, making it difficult for non-state actors to acquire them, and that this had also accounted to low cases of terrorism deaths in the country.
“We are working and I think we have done fairly well.
“One of the things that we have seen as an indication that things are beginning to look different for example, is AK 47 that used to be sold for less than N500,000 last year but now goes for N5 million.
“This means it is not available and we are mopping them up, we are taking them out, we are destroying them. We do not just take but we destroy,” Mr Ribadu said.
“A lot of this work is ongoing, but people don’t really see; we salute our armed forces, our security forces, our governors who are doing extremely well.
“A lot of difference is taking place in Nigeria and that is the reason why I can assure you that in the last year, we have reduced deaths as a result of violent crimes and use of arms.
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“We used to record 2,600 or so a month but now we do have less than 200 on the average.
“It is an indication that we are getting results for the work being done,” he said.