March 15, 2023

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, has ordered the continuous mop-up of illicit arms and ammunition across the nation to curb the trafficking of illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) within the country and mitigate any form of insecurity or threats to the ongoing electoral processes and general safety of Nigeria.

This was contained in a statement by CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Force Public Relations officer on Tuesday.

The IGP also confirmed that within one month from the handover of previously recovered arms and ammunition to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) on the 16th of February, 2023, the NPF  has recovered additional 182 sophisticated arms and 430 ammunitions of various calibres.

He however ordered all Commands and Formations to intensify efforts towards decimating the proliferation of illicit arms and ammunition in the country.

In the same vein the IGP said additional human and logistic support has been extended to Commands and Formations across the country for effective election security management during the forthcoming gubernatorial and state houses of assembly elections scheduled for Saturday 18th March, 2023.

According to him, the additional support includes the deployment of personnel, operational vehicles, non-lethal weapons, personal protective equipment (body armor), anti-riot equipment etc.

Furthermore, the Inspector-General of Police has charged all Strategic Police Managers to deploy the additional distributed operational assets and manpower to ensure the emplacement of a proper security arrangement for the upcoming elections as all hands must be on deck to ensure that the elections are conducted in a peaceful and secure environment.