9 - The Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies

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Law and Security in Nigeria
civilians, which is said to be in the majority. 80 It has also
been reported that as at 2002, 80% of weapons in civilian
possession were illegally acquired because of the strict
regulations 81 . This gives rise to the conclusion that a large
percentage- if not majority- of the small arms in circulation
in Nigeria are illicit. The outdated state of the data creates the
possibility that these figures are understated. 82 Even so, they
can be regarded as excessive and destabilising going by the
milieu of small arms related criminality and violence
inundating many parts of the country and the militarised
nature of the society. Furthermore, the fact that many of these
weapons are illicit raises specific concerns regarding illicit
arms and the adverse effects.
Incidents of Religious and Ethnic Conflicts in Nigeria and
their Impact on Human Lives
Date Event Impact
May 1999 Clashes between Up to 200 killed
ethnic Ijaws and
Itsekiris in Niger
Delta
November 1999 Clashes between 100 + killed
Yoruba and Hausa
in Lagos
2000 Protests against Thousands
imposition of Killed
Sharia across the
80. Agboton-Johnson et al, ibid, pp 26-42.
81. The regulations are strict in the sense that they make it difficult to obtain
firearms lawfully. However, they are not effectively implemented and the
processes are easily circumvented due to institutional deficiencies.
82. It is conceivable that these figures have multiplied since 2002 going by
media reports of rampant illicit firearms interceptions. Again, firearms have
a long lifespan, which rules out the likelihood that a greater proportion of
the arms making up these figures would have become unserviceable and
gone out of circulation.