Small Arms and Light Weapons: The Petrol That Keeps Boko Haram Going
Examining who gets what, when and how in the ungodly carnage of ammunitions in Nigeria
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Soldiers, Not Wives, On Strike
It was another morning in Africa, delicately poised for the fastest Gazelle to run faster than the slowest Lion if it didn't want to end up as Mufasa's breakfast.
Except that Soldiers had other plans.
In Po, a Southern city in Burkina Faso, it was humans who were actually running faster than bullets, or trying to. The Burkinabè soldiers were irate with President Blaise Campaore's seeming neglect of their housing and food allowances. And so they took to the streets, many of them young soldiers, shooting in the air, looting shops, hijacking vehicles and causing mayhem. It was a complete reversal of their Soldier's Oath — solemnly swearing to protect the State and the Constitution of the State.
But if mutiny is all that concerns us, then this newsletter wouldn't be worth writing, or reading. The small arms used in that mutiny were never returned to the State, and they found their way to the streets of Burkina Faso, before finally laying coldly on the palms of any of West Africa's recalcitrant terror groups.
For emphasis, the Burkinabè Government was conscious of this indiscriminate use of state-sanctioned firearms when it released a statement on the fourth day of the mutiny saying that:
“For several days soldiers and civilians … have been using firearms in violation of regulations. This state of affairs will not be tolerated in a State with the rule of law”.
It further demanded
“Strict respect for rules on the use of military and civilian arms and munitions, and all offenders will face the full force of the law”.
But this is Africa, and people no dey hear word. If not, why will more than 30 million firearms be circulating illegally on the Continent, if not that someone has either: 1) Stolen from a national arms stockpile, 2) Traded in illicit firearms trade; 3) And/or produced small arms and light weapons through a local blacksmith.
Let's follow this story.
Black, Gun Market
Industrial-scale production of arms in West Africa and the Sahel region is relatively non existent, except in Mali and Nigeria where small arms and their related parts, accessories and ammunitions are produced.
In Nigeria, the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, headquartered in Kaduna and set up by an Act of Parliament in 1964, produces a broad spectrum of weapons for the country's Defence use, including AK-pattern and other rifles, submachine guns, general purpose machine guns, pistols, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, 811 mm mortars, hand grenades and a whole variety of ammunitions.
These ammunitions are largely not for export, but primarily designed to meet national security focus and concerns.
But again, this is Africa. Plenty people get Coconut head.
If not, why were six soldiers jailed for life in November 2008 if not that they were selling machine guns, rifles and other weapons to militants and criminals in the oil-producing Niger Delta.
Military judge, Bala Usara, stated in his pronouncement that the soldiers, led by Major Suleiman Akubo, stole more than 7,000 weapons worth around £500,000, and sold them to Niger Delta militants and gangs from 2000 to 2006. One of these firearms buyers was Sunny Okah, brother of Henry Okah, suspected leader of the militant group MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) who remains famed for treason and gun running.
Across West Africa, the firearms trade remains robust. The “artisanal, informal and mainly clandestine” firearm production industry remains untainted, dominated by knowledge passed down from one generation of blacksmiths to another — across Ghana, Core d'ivoire, Benin, Togo, Nigeria and many West African states.
In Ghana, more sophisticated weapons such as the AKM, a variant of the AK-47, can even be produced. And even though many blacksmiths claim that these weapons are intended for hunters and hunting purposes, there remains no exact monitoring of how and where these weapons end up.
In inter-country arms trade, the market is sizzling. Long, porous borders, lack of controls around border towns and weak enforcement of national firearms legislation (or the absence of an up-to-date legislation) has made the trade of imported firearms even more predominant.
In fact, 8 million small arms and light weapons (SALW) criss-cross West Africa, present in the hands of State and non-State actors. Even, few months after the Presidential Amnesty Programme of 2010 in which 20,000 small arms were surrendered by the Niger Delta Militants, Nigeria soon uncovered 13 containers loaded with 107 mm rockets, 120 mm, 80 mm and 60 mm mortars and many other small ammunitions at the Apapa port.
Talk about Gun trade.
Boko Haram and Improvised Explosive Devices
Three instances: In 2013, Boko Haram raided a construction site in Yobe State, stealing 150 kilos of explosives and hundreds of detonators. In August 2014, explosives used in that month's suicide attacks were reportedly stolen from a quarry run by a Chinese road construction company in May of that year. And In November 2014, Boko Haram militants reportedly raided a Cement factory and seized dynamite from a quarry, a situation in which they reportedly had “unhindered access to the quarry site”.
What thread do all of these scenarios sow? The unhindered porousness of our security apparatus, and the relative ease with which Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) can be made in Nigeria.
And IEDs are no joke. IEDs are second only to small arms when it comes to weapons that inflict the most harm on civilians. In fact, 56% of all deaths between 2011 to 2015, caused by explosives, were credited to IEDs. What's more? IEDs have a staggering 91% fatality rate when used in civilian populations — destroying hospitals, causing health emergencies, and rendering humanitarian services largely impossible.
So you would think that with the relative ease with which these devices can be made, Nigeria would be careful with regards to protecting the primary sources of IEDS — homemade chemicals, commercial materials and military materials from unsecured stockpiles.
Alas, the reverse is the fortune.
Action Point
Well, 'nuff said from here. But what three steps must be take as a country ASAP, in tightening access to small arms and light weapons?
1) Tighter border security, especially around importation of illegal firearms;
2) Establishment of a Commission providing effective oversight over illegal importation of firearms;
3) Enactment and enforcement of relevant laws against use and trade in illegal firearms.
And these are just three of the most basic recommendations. I hope we can get to work. At least for Binta and Maimuna.