9 - The Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies

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Law and Security in Nigeria
inconsistent with the tenets of human rights. The
following excerpt vividly describes the prevailing
atmosphere in Nigeria:
Every day, at least three people somewhere in
the country will be killed, and as readers go
through the paper, a head is being blown away,
a stomach is being ripped open and a limb is
being shattered by bullets whizzing off the
barrels of an armed robber’s gun. From Lagos
to Abuja, Kaduna to Bida, Onitsha to Yola,
armed hoodlums showing neither mercy nor
pity have unleashed a reign of terror on
Nigerians. They are all-over in towns and
villages, in ghettos and GRAs. No one is safe,
no place is sacred, and no security is inviolable.
The armed hoodlums are not just daring, they
are ruthless. They steal, they rape and the
kill.... 90
Factors Encouraging the Proliferation of SALW in
Nigeria
Generally, the proliferation of small arms is a correlation of
two major and mutually supportive factors – the demand for
small arms (motivating factors) and the supply or sources. 91
Sources of Illicit Weapons
The proliferation of illicit SAWL in Nigeria has external and
internal sources:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=105382.
90. Egwu Smart Out: “Armed Robbery in the South-eastern States of
Contemporary Nigeria: A Criminological Analysis”, (Ph.D Thesis) South
Africa, June 2003, p 94, quoting Thisday Newspaper, (citation unavailable)
and cited in Ngang, ibid, p 73.
91. Report of Panel of Experts, op cit.