The Nigeria Police Force has launched a nationwide operation to recover illegal firearms ahead of the 2027 general election.

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, announced the initiative on Thursday in Abuja during a courtesy visit by a delegation from the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), led by its Director-General, Johnson Kokumo.

Disu stressed the need for sustained public advocacy on civil disarmament, urging Nigerians to recognise that security is a shared responsibility.

“We need to let them know that it is not only those of us in uniform who are security operatives. Policing is a collective responsibility.

“It is important to create awareness that anybody carrying illegal arms is likely to use them against another citizen.

“There is, therefore, a need for civil disarmament, and all hands must be on deck to ensure the success of the exercise.

“Our officers have been directed to commence the operation, especially as we approach the elections, and we have already begun recovering illegal arms from people who are not authorised to possess them,” he said.

The I-G said efforts to encourage the voluntary surrender and recovery of illegal weapons would intensify as the elections draw nearer.

According to him, the operation is designed to encourage individuals in possession of illegal firearms to surrender them voluntarily.

Disu also sought stronger collaboration with the NCCSALW to implement the programme effectively.

He reaffirmed the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to strengthening its partnership with the centre in the recovery of illicit weapons.

According to him, the police, as the country’s foremost internal security agency with a nationwide presence, enjoy greater access to communities than any other government institution.

Disu said the force’s contribution to arms recovery had been significant because of its access to various categories of illicit, locally manufactured, and stolen weapons.

“We share this mission of arms recovery because we cannot continue to allow recovered arms to find their way back into society.

“Every weapon discovered and every weapon destroyed makes my job easier. It is a joint operation and a shared mission,” he said.

Earlier, Kokumo said the visit was aimed at strengthening institutional collaboration and charting a joint strategy to combat the proliferation of illicit arms.

He noted that the spread of illegal arms and ammunition was closely linked to terrorism, violent extremism, and other forms of criminality.

“The availability of illicit weapons fuels violent extremism and virtually every form of violent crime.

“It was in recognition of this that ECOWAS adopted a convention requiring every member state to establish an agency—whether a commission, department, or centre—to combat the proliferation of illicit arms and ammunition,” he said.

Kokumo disclosed that the centre had destroyed more than 16,000 obsolete, decommissioned, and unserviceable weapons since its establishment.

He added that the Nigeria Police Force had transferred 11,907 illicit, obsolete, unserviceable, and decommissioned weapons to the centre.

“Of the weapons supplied by the Nigeria Police Force, 8,438 are automatic firearms, while 3,489 are locally fabricated weapons,” he said.