Buhari seeks regional cooperation to check illegal arms flow

President Muhammadu Buhari is Saturday arrived in seeking wider cooperation among countries of Sahel and Saharan regions to counter the infiltration of small arms to Nigeria, flowing into the hands of militia forces, bandits and insurgents who are becoming a threat to human rights and internal security.

The president is in N’Djamena, the Chadian capital, to participate in the one-day Extraordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, CEN-SAD, alongside his host and current Chairperson of CEN-SAD, Idriss Deby Itno and their counterparts from Niger and Togo, with high-level representations from other member-countries.

According to a statement issued on Saturday by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Nigeria under President Buhari has worked closely with immediate neighbours in the last few years to stem the widespread availability of small arms and light weapons making their way into Nigeria, but the “very disturbing recent developments” have impelled the administration to seek support from a wider circle of countries if the illegal inflows are to be curtailed.

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It said the President was also putting on the table for discussions, the problems of irregular migration, trafficking in persons, especially of women and children as part of the security nature of his engagements.

“It is in view of the significance of this organization 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 organization,” the statement said.

It added that President Buhari was 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.