A wider cooperation among countries of Sahel and Saharan regions to counter the proliferation and infiltration of small arms to Nigeria has been called for by the President Muhammadu Buhari.
The president who made the call in N’Djamena, the Chadian capital, where he attended a one-day Extraordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, CEN-SAD, also stressed the need not to allow the flow of small arms into the hands of militia forces, bandits and insurgents threatening the region.
Buhari, according to his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu in Abuja, stated that his government has worked closely with immediate neighbours to stem the widespread availability of small arms making their way into the country.
According to the statement, “It is in view of the significance of this organisation and the role it can play in furthering domestic security that President Buhari ordered the reinvigoration of our nation’s interest, approved the payment of the backlog of unpaid funds and for a speedier work on the processes of the ratification of the treaty binding the members of the organisation.
“While in N’Djamena, President Buhari is also expected to press for the protection of the well-being of the large population of Nigerians living both legally and illegally in Libya, which is the host country of the CEN-SAD Secretariat.”