National Youth Service Corps NYSC,is set to partner National Centre for the Control of Arms and Light Weapons (NCCALW) to sanitize Nigerians against proliferation of illegal arms.
NYSC Director General, Brigadier General YD Ahmed said the Scheme is strategically placed to collaborate with NCCALW towards the effective sensitization against the rising tide in the transnational movement of illegal arms and weapons within the Nigerian geographical space.
General Ahmed said with an annual average mobilization of over 380,000 Nigerian graduate youths and deployment of same to every nook and crannies of the country, the Scheme’s capacity in this regard is certain.
The Director General stated this in his response to the request made by the Director General of the Centre, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Rtd) Johnson Kokumo, when the latter paid a courtesy call on him at the NYSC National Directorate Headquarters Abuja.
While acceding to the request for partnership between the NYSC and NCCALW, General Ahmed added that the initiative was a welcome development in view of the threats posed to national security by the activities of arms dealers.
The NYSC DG said it became imperative for both agencies to develop a framework in order to define the areas of collaboration.
DIG Kokumo said the need for both agencies to collaborate to curtail the movement of illegal arms had become imperative given the fact that most of the actors in the unwholesome practice were young men and women.
He disclosed that the proliferation of illegal arms and weapons was largely responsible for the increase in crimes such as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, among others in the country.
The NCCALW’s Chief Executive reiterated that the specific areas of partnership desired by the Centre was to sensitize Corps Members on the dangers posed to Nigeria by activities of illegal arms dealers and also use them as change agents to educate the public.
John kokumo informed his host that the centre’s establishment was informed by a directive from the ECOWAS Commission for Member States to take formal steps towards curtailing the activities of arms smugglers across the West African sub-region.
He added that the centre was established in 2021 and got its legal backing in June 2024.
