By Khalid Idris Doya
The federal government has enlisted members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) across the Northeast to play active roles in combating the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the region.
Northeast zonal director of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Adamu (Rtd), made the call during sensitisation exercises at the NYSC Orientation Camps in Potiskum, Yobe State, and Maiduguri, Borno.
Represented by the Centre's Assistant Director of Strategic Communication and Information, Mr. Aminu Saleh Mohammed, the zonal director, emphasised that the involvement of young people, particularly corps members, would significantly strengthen ongoing efforts to tackle insecurity.
Maj.-Gen. Adamu explained that the NCCSALW, established in 2021 under the ONSA, provides Nigeria’s institutional framework for regulating and controlling small arms and light weapons.
Addressing corps members in Yobe, he highlighted the dangers of arms proliferation, which he described as a major driver of banditry, kidnapping, cultism, political thuggery, insurgency, and other criminal activities.
"When you get to your places of primary assignment, be good ambassadors of your families, NYSC, and your states. Report anyone found possessing or producing illicit small arms and light weapons," he urged.
He warned that the spread of illicit weapons undermines development, fuels violence, emboldens black-market arms dealers, heightens transborder insecurity, and exposes young people to armed conflict.
Adamu also appealed to parents and guardians to prioritise proper child upbringing, instill values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence, and monitor behavioral changes that may signal vulnerability to negative influences.
At the Maiduguri orientation camp, he further urged Islamic and Christian scholars to educate their congregations on the dangers of SALW proliferation, promote peace, and support reconciliation initiatives for extremists and victims as part of reintegration efforts.
Adamu also encouraged NYSC coordinators across the Northeast to collaborate with the Centre to establish Small Arms and Light Weapons Community Development Service (CDS) groups, similar to the one already operating in Borno State.
Responding, the NYSC Coordinators for Yobe and Borno States, Mr. Edison Ohuoha and Mallam Nasir Bello, praised the initiative and pledged full cooperation.
They assured that steps would be taken to establish the CDS groups and support awareness campaigns in strategic locations across the region.
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