The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons has called on members of the National Youth Service Corps serving in Nigeria’s North-East to join efforts to stem the spread of illicit weapons across the region.
The appeal came during separate sensitisation sessions at NYSC orientation camps in Potiskum, Yobe State, and Maiduguri, Borno State. Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Adamu (retd.), the centre’s North-East Zonal Director, delivered the message through representatives at both locations.
In Yobe, Assistant Director of Strategic Communication and Information Aminu Saleh Mohammed stood in for Adamu. He told corps members that youth involvement would significantly strengthen the fight against insecurity. Mohammed outlined the centre’s mandate, established in 2021 under the Office of the National Security Adviser, as the institutional framework for regulating and controlling small arms and light weapons in Nigeria.
Adamu warned that the unchecked proliferation of illicit arms fuels banditry, kidnapping, cultism, political thuggery, insurgency and other violent crimes. “When you get to your places of primary assignment, be good ambassadors of your parents, NYSC, your state and yourself by reporting anyone in possession or involved in the fabrication of small arms and light weapons,” he said.
The message extended beyond the camps. Adamu urged parents and guardians to foster tolerance and peaceful coexistence among children, advising them to monitor behavioural changes and address negative tendencies early.
In Maiduguri, Chief Programme Officer for Intelligence Stephen Inau Mshelia represented Adamu at a gathering of religious leaders and scholars. He called on them to sensitise their congregations to the dangers of illicit weapons and to support reconciliation and the reintegration of former extremists and victims.
NYSC coordinators in both states welcomed the initiative. Okochi Okpara in Yobe and Nasir Bello in Borno endorsed a proposal to establish Small Arms and Light Weapons Community Development Service groups within the corps. Both pledged to collaborate with the centre on sustained sensitisation campaigns across the region.
The engagement reflects a growing recognition that community-based approaches, particularly those leveraging youth networks and religious influence, are essential to addressing the weapons flows that sustain violent conflict in north-eastern Nigeria.
