Minister blames firearms, drugs for violence in Nigeria

The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, has blamed the upsurge of violence in the country on the influx of firearms as well as drug trafficking and abuse.

The minister disclosed this on Tuesday, January 23, 2018, before a private meeting with heads of the nation's internal security agencies to discuss recent security challenges.

Dambazau said that firearms and drugs have fueled the courage of troublemakers to push ahead with violence all over the country.

The minister used terrorist group, Boko Haram, Niger Delta militants and the herders/farmers clash all over the country to drive home his point.

He said, "One of the issues that came up in the communiqué was the issue of the proliferation of small arms and drug trafficking and abuse.

"We also found out that these two issues are triggers to the violence taking place in this country.

"Without the fire arms and drugs, those who partake in violence would not have the courage to carry out the kind of violence taking place in this country.

"As a follow-up I called for this meeting so that we can examine and analyse (the situation) to see how best we can deal with the situation."

350 million assorted firearms in Nigeria

The minister further said the country has to effectively come up with measures to stem the inflow of weapons into the country as Nigeria is home to 350 million of approximately 500 million assorted firearms in West Africa.

He said, "The situation is worsened by the insurgency in the North East because of the supply of weapons to the insurgents and terrorists there.

"Likewise the supply of weapon to the militants in the Niger Delta through exchange of stolen crude oil and supply by politicians to deal with their opponents.

"It is very necessary for us to secure our country and of course a more challenging aspect of that which facilitate the smuggling of weapons, is our porous borders and this is a major challenge to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Nigeria Custom Service in particular but to all law enforcement agencies."

The minister also urged state governments and religious organisations to continue to cooperate with the Federal Government to put a satisfying end to the herders/farmers crisis that has claimed the lives of hundreds of Nigerians over the past couple of years.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Department of State Services, National Intelligence Agency, Nigeria Customs Service, and the United Nations Development Programme, among others.