June 27, (THEWILL) – The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms & Light Weapons, NCCSALW, has advised members of the public to be weary of unscrupulous elements impersonating the centre.
Major General Ifiok Obot (Rtd), the South-South Zonal Coordinator of the centre gave the advise in Calabar.
He said a number of outfits have been springing up, purporting to control Small Arms and Light Weapons and said such people should be reported to the nearest security agency.
“The centre has observed that some unscrupulous elements have sprung up pseudo-security outfits in whatever guise and nomenclature.
“They are aimed at decieving unsuspecting members of the public by parading themselves as the national organisation for the Control of SALW.
“The public should be wary of such illegal groups and report them to the nearest security agency”, he said.
He added that NCCSALW is the only agency of government established to combat proliferation of SALW in Nigeria.
He said the advisory is imperative as in recent times, there has been an escalation in the proliferation of SALW in Nigeria and across the world and this has fostered insecurity.
NCCSALW was established on the 3rd of may, 2021, by former president, Muhammadu Buhari, by an executive directive and is domiciled in the office of the National Security Adviser.
The centre is saddled with the responsibility of collaborating with relevant stakeholders in monitoring and tracking the movement and stockpile of illicit SALW within the country.
They also gather and recover illicit SALW for destruction.
THEWILL Correspondent, Aniekan Bassey has over six years experience that spans across several fields in print journalism including development communication, sexual reproductive and health rights issues, crime, climate change, social justice, business and human interest stories.
