By Saminu Ibrahim
The Director General National Taskforce on the Prohibition of illegal Importation/Smuggling of Arms, Ammunition, Light Weapons, Chemical Weapons and Pipeline Vandalism (Natforce ), Chief Osita Okereke (OON) has applauded the newly established National Centre for the control of small arms and light weapons.
Indeed, Okereke hailed the federal government over the centre, saying Natforce will form a synergy with the centre to curtail the challenge of proliferation of light arms and tackle insecurity.
The Director General of Natforce spoke at a press conference held on Wednesday in Abuja.
He explained that Natforce would pay a courtesy visit to the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno to show it’s solidarity and fight against proliferation of small arms and weapons in Nigeria.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari recently approved the establishment of a national centre for the control of small arms and light weapons.
The centre, according to the National Security Adviser, Monguno will be domiciled under the office of the NSA, saying efforts are on to give it a legal backing.
He added that the centre will be similar to the counter terrorism centre and the cybersecurity centre, both of which are domiciled under his office.
When fully operational, the centre will “work in compliance with already laid down international standards and ECOWAS moratorium on the control of small arms and light weapons.”
Okereke said “I love the initiative, because it gives us open hands to expose our activity. It is not the one we recover and give to police and the police will take it as their effort, so it will make our efforts to be known, so we need the centre more than any other person.
“I wrote to National Security Adviser yesterday that we are in support and want to pay him a courtesy visit to tell him we are not against it. That place is a fantastic initiative, that we can know where to hand over and let Nigerians know our achievements.
“Every month we will account and the media will be there. The centre is a great one. I love it” Okereke reiterated.
Okereke, who is an advocate for a bill for an act Against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons and Related Matters, which has passed second reading at the National Assembly berated the Nigerian Police for destroying it’s office on Wednesday.
“The matter is in the court, I have told the lawyers to go and take the pictures, it is a contempt of court. We are law abiding citizens, we are not going to fight anybody. What we are trying to do is to initiate peace in Nigeria.
“I told my boys not to revenge, they have committed, may God forgive them. But that is contempt of court, because we had a judgement and they are aware and we have been working with them before now.
“If they want to do community policing, they should go and recruit their people and pay them and train them. But you cannot come and queue or to hijack people that have been working for National Taskforce for years, and say they should come and work under state policing.
“My call is for NASS to approve our bill and so that Mr President can sign it into law, for us to have full authority, because this harrasment am getting tired of it” Okereke said.
He advised the youths to shun violence and criminality, stressing that those who love Nigeria should come and volunteer and join National Taskforce to enhance the passage of the bill into law. “This is not one-man fight”.
On whether Natforce was liaising with ECOWAS, Okereke answered in affirmative, adding “Of course we are liaising with ECOWAS, we are their baby. There is nothing I can do with ECOWAS until this bill is pass”.
