FORMER Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Federal Operations Hakeem Odumosu (rtd) yesterday described as a dangerous trend, the directive by Zamfara State government that the people should bear firearms in self-defence.
As part of measures to curb terrorism and armed violence, the government at the weekend announced that the Commissioner of Police (CP) in Zamfara State, Ayuba Elkanah, had been directed to licence arms to people to defend themselves.
Odumosu said it would lead to proliferation of firearms and compound the security challenges.
He emphasised that by the regulation, only the President and Commander-in-Chief has the power to licence firearms for anyone, adding that he doubted President Muhammadu Buhari would approve the Zamfara measure.
Odumosu said security agencies should be adequately equipped, trained and provided actionable intelligence to deal with terrorists and other criminal elements.
He said: “It is a dangerous route to take. It will not solve the problem. Firstly, why give gun licence to people who do not have basic weapon handling training and sight testing? What if you give them these guns and as a result of poor sights, they shoot other innocent people?
“Then, the problem we are currently facing is as a result of proliferation of small and light arms. Allowing the people to bear weapons will worsen. More guns will be in the hands of non-state actors and that will cause more problems for security agencies.
“What we should be doing is equipping and training security agencies to confront these challenges. Then, enlighten the people to provide timely and actionable information to security agencies,” he said.
Also, a security expert, Seyi Adetayo, said the liberation of gun ownership would lead to arms proliferation that may be used in future to settle scores
He said: “It is a phase in security situations where the state’s coercive arm has been lost. Communities will resort to self-help. What the state government has done is to give legitimacy to a practice already in existence.
“Will it solve the problem? No. But in the short term, it will create some level of relief but will not eliminate the threats.
“Then, the relief will create secondary issues around proliferation of firearms which may end up being used in future to settle scores.
“So, we should not forget the fact that those attacking these communities carry more sophisticated weapons.
It will reduce chance attacks.
“It will reduce frequency of attacks but the dimension will be larger when they happen resulting to higher casualty figures especially among women and children.”
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