The Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Olatunji Disu, says small arms and light weapons are among the most potent drivers of electoral violence.

This is contained in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, made available to journalists in Abuja on Monday.

Mr Iniedu said the I-G spoke at the opening of a five-day programme on Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification and Tracing (SALW-IT) simulation.

Mr Disu said the programme was designed to strengthen participants’ capacity to identify, mark, register and trace small arms, light weapons and ammunition.

He also said participants would combine technical instruction with practical simulations at the Nigeria Police Simulation Centre.

The I-G noted that disrupting illicit arms supplies across borders was central to safeguarding Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

According to him, illicitly acquired weapons are used to intimidate voters, harass political opponents, disrupt polling, and attack electoral personnel and materials, thereby undermining public confidence in the democratic process.

He said many of the weapons entered the country through porous borders and trafficking routes that no single nation could close alone.

“Effective weapons tracing enables investigators to uncover trafficking networks, financiers and supply routes, allowing targeted action against those who arm criminals and political thugs.

“Disrupting this supply chain ahead of the 2027 polls will help protect voters, election officials and sustain the conditions necessary for peaceful, free and fair elections,” he said.

Mr Disu, therefore, called for closer sub-regional and continental cooperation through timely intelligence sharing, coordinated investigations and mutual assistance in locating and lawfully apprehending suspects involved in transborder crimes.

According to him, such cooperation must operate through established legal and institutional channels to prevent offenders from exploiting national borders to evade justice.

Participants in the programme were drawn from Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, Mali, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Niger, Libya, Benin and the Republic of the Congo.

 (NAN)