Jane Salihu
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has identified the tracking of illicit firearms and stronger regional intelligence sharing as critical measures to prevent electoral violence and combat cross-border crime ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
Disu stated this on Monday in Abuja while declaring open a five-day Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification and Tracing (SALW-IT) Simulation Programme aimed at strengthening the capacity of security personnel to identify, register and trace illicit weapons and ammunition.
According to a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the programme, scheduled to run from October 12 to 16, 2026, brings together participants from 12 African countries for technical training and practical exercises at the Nigeria Police Simulation Centre.
The IGP said the proliferation of illegal firearms remained a major security challenge across Africa, fuelling terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and organised crime.
He explained that effective weapons tracing would help investigators identify trafficking networks, their financiers and supply routes, thereby enabling security agencies to disrupt the movement of illegal arms.
Disu particularly stressed the importance of the initiative to Nigeria’s forthcoming elections, noting that cutting off illicit arms supplies would help reduce the risk of electoral violence, intimidation and attacks against voters and electoral officials.
He said the skills acquired during the training would be extended to police commands and formations through structured knowledge-sharing and further training to strengthen officers’ capacity to recover weapons, develop actionable intelligence and support election-security operations.
Beyond Nigeria’s electoral concerns, the police chief called for stronger cooperation among African countries to address transnational security threats.
He advocated timely intelligence exchange, coordinated investigations and mutual legal assistance to prevent criminal networks from exploiting national borders to evade arrest and prosecution.
Disu also disclosed that Inspectors-General of Police from West and East African countries would meet to deliberate on crime-related challenges and develop strategies for tackling cross-border criminal activities.
The discussions, he said, would complement broader efforts to strengthen collective responses to security threats across the continent.
The five-day programme has participants from Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, Mali, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Niger, Libya, Benin and the Republic of the Congo.
The IGP commended the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC), INTERPOL, relevant African Union bodies and experts from the German Armed Forces Verification Centre for supporting the initiative.
He urged participants to share operational experiences, build professional networks and apply the knowledge gained to improve security operations in their respective countries.
Disu reaffirmed the Nigeria Police Force’s support for regional and continental arms-control initiatives, expressing confidence that the training would strengthen public safety, intelligence-led policing and election security.
