Troops across various theatres of operations in the country in separate operations have recovered a total of 66,692 arms and ammunition from non-state actors.
A breakdown of the figures revealed that a total of 3,117 dangerous arms and 63,575 ammunition were captured by troops.
Some of the non-state actors the arms and ammunition recovered from are terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) combatants among others.
The figures are based on the reported recoveries made by troops during their operations in various theatres between January and April 2024.
Some of the arms recovered during this period included 1,619 AK-47 rifles, 24 Automatic Pump Action guns, and 47 locally fabricated guns among others.
Others are 36,007 rounds of 7.62mm special amm, 12,698 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 948 assorted arms and 5,520 assorted ammo, 47 locally fabricated guns, 47 Dane guns, 24 automatic pump action guns, eight locally fabricated pistols, 2 locally made single barrel guns, one double barrel gun, one hand grenade, and one IED.
Others are 1,686 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 116 rounds of 9mm ammo, 133 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ball ammo, 151 rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammo, 619 live cartridges, and 34 magazines among others.
The proliferation of arms and ammunition in the country has been attributed to the alarming increasing crime rates.
Non-state actors such as terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, and other criminal elements have easily carried out their deadly operations as a result of easy access to dangerous weapons.
To checkmate this, experts have suggested a serious mop-up of the weapons in circulation in the country, the enchantment of security at our porous borders, and stricter regulations on firearms among others.
According to a 2023 report by SBM Intelligence, an Africa-focused market/security intel gathering and strategic consulting firm, an estimated 6.1 million small arms are in the possession of non-state actors.
