A bill seeking the establishment of the National Commission for Coordination and Control of Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons has been passed by the Senate.
The passage followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on National Security and Intelligence.
The piece of legislation is a consolidation of three others – two private and one executive bill –to check the menace.
They include the Nigerian National Commission against Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Establishment) Bill, 2020(SB. 283); Nigerian National Commission against Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Establishment) Bill, 2020 (SB. 513) and the National Centre for Coordination and Control of Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Establishment) Bill, 2021 (SB. 794).
The three bills, which scaled second reading, were thereafter referred to the committee for further legislative work.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ibrahim Gobir (APC: Sokoto East), in a presentation, said the bills seek to provide for the establishment of a government body that would be saddled with combating the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria.
According to him, the functions of the body, “shall be in line with Article 24 of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Convention on Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, which came into force in 2009.”
He added that his committee decided to harmonise the bills.