The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, announced that the Federal Government is investigating the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) as a significant route for arms trafficking into Nigeria.
Ribadu made this statement during a two-day seminar on “Climate Change and the Changing Dynamics of Arms Proliferation and Insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea: Nigeria in Perspective,” held on Tuesday in Abuja. The seminar was organized by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) in collaboration with the Global Network for Human Development.
Represented by Ibrahim Babani, the Director of External Affairs at the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Ribadu highlighted the GoG’s vast natural resources and mineral deposits, including an estimated 24 billion barrels of crude oil reserves that contribute roughly five million barrels daily to the global crude supply.
He noted that the region encompasses 16 countries, including Nigeria, along its approximately 6,000-kilometer coastline, making it a crucial maritime gateway between Africa and the rest of the world. However, he cautioned that the lucrative nature of the GoG attracts organized crime syndicates involved in various illegal activities, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, oil theft, kidnapping, piracy, and smuggling of contraband goods.
Ribadu emphasized that among these activities is the smuggling of Small Arms and Light Weapons by international crime syndicates, which poses a significant security threat to Nigeria and the broader region.