New measures adopted to check cross-border arms flow

President Olusegun Obasanjo said on Saturday his government had adopted new measures to stop the smuggling of arms into Nigeria from neighbouring countries.

He said the measures included improving border patrols, consulting with arms manufacturers and plans to deploy Nigerian customs officials in neighbouring countries with the consent of their governments.

“We are now collaborating with the countries that share borders with us, because arms importation will not be possible unless they come through our borders,” said Obasanjo, who was speaking on radio. “We are even posting our own border and police officials to deal with things from the other side.”

He said discussions were going on with neighbouring countries so that Nigerian customs officials would in due course be posted to their ports to inspect goods destined for Nigeria and
ensure they did not include arms and ammunition. He also said consultations had also been initiated with international arms manufacturers to check the flow of weapons into the country.

Sizable weapons consignments have been impounded in recent months by Nigerian security officials on the borders with Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Obasanjo said the weapons were not only being delivered to criminals, but were also arming people involved in the ethnic and religious
violence that has rocked the country in recent years.