ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons

ECOWAS CONVENTION ON SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS:THE IMPERATIVE FOR DOMESTICATION IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Nigeria today is faced with enormous securitychallenges which are threatening the safety, unityand prosperity of the country. These securitychallenges are occasioned by the ease with whichillicit arms, weapons and ammunitions cross ourborders and found custody in the palms of Non-stateactors, illegal armed groups and other criminalgangs. The reason that the country finds itselfhelpless to combat this menace is the obsolete andineffective legislation regulating arms andammunitions in Nigeria. The content of the FireArms Act and other laws relative to this are highlyinadequate and outdated and cannot march the modernarms illicit trade and acquisition. This articleappraised the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms andLight Weapons (SALW) and discovered that theconvention contains far reaching provisions whichis geared towards effective control and prohibitionon the manufacture, trade, and use of SALW. Thework argues that since Nigeria is the first countryto ratify this Convention that in order to tacklethe seeming security issues besetting it that it istime to domesticate this Convention to benefit fromits provisions.

KEY WORDS: Non-State actors, armed groups, FireArms Act, ECOWAS Convention, SALW.

INTRODUCTION

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The Nigerian Nation and its people have had an

unfair share and experience of breaking-point

macabre insecurity by way of conflicts, violent

crimes, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and

gangsterism. These are unleashed on the nation and

its people by individual armed groups, mercenaries

and even regrettably state security agents. The

vehicle through which this is made possible is

lethal weapons which are referred to as “Small Arms

and Light Weapon”.1 In view of the highly injurious

lethal nature of SALW, any misuse can lead to

several deaths and life threatening injuries. The

devastating consequences of the misuse and

proliferation continue to pose major threat to

Nigeria’s security, stability, prosperity and even

posterity and unity.

In order to effectively address this issue, it is

important to frontally and with enough political

will locate the issue of proliferation of SALW with

particular reference to manufacturing, transfer,1 Also described as “SALW”

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brokerage, tracing, marking and the establishment

of a national commission for the general

implementation of the spirit of the new weapon

management regime. The regulation and management of

access to small arms and light weapons in Nigeria

is anarchic in nature as the Act and Regulation is

anachronistic as it has fallen short of the twenty

First Century contemporary weapons deal. The

Nigeria Firearms Act and Regulations was

promulgated in 1959 and as such lack the legal

speciality and efficiency to tackle today weapons

challenges. In view of the present position, it is

imperative that Nigeria make it quick to domestic

the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light

Weapons, their Ammunitions and other Related

Materials adopted on 14th June 2006 and which we

became a State Party on 27th October 2008. This

domestication is necessary because being a State

Party alone cannot make the Convention operational

in Nigeria until and unless the National Assembly

passes it into law in compliance with the 1999

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Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.2

This provision reads thus:

“No treaty between the Federation and anyother country shall have the force of law except to theextent to which any such treaty has been enacted into lawby the National Assembly”3

The said domestication of this Convention shall

combat the ever trending menace of proliferation

and misuse of small arms and light weapons in the

country and the minimalization of insecurity and

violent crimes. This is because, the ECOWAS

Convention is complete and holistic on its

provisions and regulations. It must be stated that

the death toll from small arms uses in Nigeria’s

conflict and violent crimes in recent times have

comparatively greatly exceeded even that of the

Nigeria-Biafra Civil War. The unchecked or

ineffective check of movement of small arms and

light weapons exacerbate conflicts and insecurity2 See Section 12 of the 1999 CFRN. 3 Ibid

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and has at different times in our nation’s life

threaten the soul of the nation’s unity and has

emboldened organize crimes and armed bearers. The

result of this is that the country unfortunately

became highly militarized and plagued by brigands

and internecine armed conflicts. These ranges from

ethno-religious crises in Jos and Kano, to the

Militancy in Niger-Delta, to the kidnapping

phenomenon in Aba, the boundary armed conflict

between Umuleri and Aguleri in Anambra State, the

inter cult clashes in our tertiary institutions, to

the pirates and oil bunkerer in the marine shores

of Nigeria and many more.

ANALYSIS OF THE CONVENTION

This Convention came as a result of the

deficiencies and lack of State Parties commitment

towards the realization of the objectives set out

by the ECOWAS Moratorium on the Important,

Exportation and Manufacture of Light Weapons.4 This

document was adopted in 1998 and renewed in 2001.

The Moratorium has a timeline and is just a4 See, http://www/grip.org/bdg/g169.html

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political engagement pushed by State Parties and

its lack of detail text made it difficult to

implement in practice. Also the voluntary nature of

the document was the major reason for the lack of

sanctions and there is no capacity for effective

implementation that is provided for by the said

document.

So the principal objectives of this Convention are

to prevent and combat the excessive and

destabilizing accumulation of small arms and light

weapons within ECOWAS borders. Also, to continue

the efforts for the control of small arms and light

weapons within ECOWAS region as well as to

consolidate the gains of the Declaration of the

Moratorium on the importation, exportation and

manufacture of small arms and its code of conduct.

Furthermore, it is to promote trust between the

Member States through concerted and transparent

action on the control of small arms and light

weapons within ECOWAS. Additionally, it aims to

build institutional and operational capacities of

the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat and the Members

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State in the efforts to curb the proliferation of

small arms and light weapons, their ammunitions and

other related materials. Finally, it aims to

promote the exchange of information and cooperation

among the Member States.5

In its definitional section, the Convention defines

Small Arms thus:

“Arms used by one person and which includenotably: firearms and other destructive arms ordevices such as an exploding bomb, an incendiary bomb, agrenade, a rocket launcher, a missile, a missile system orlandmine; revolvers and pistols with automatic loading;rifles and carbines; machine guns; assault rifles; and lightmachine guns.”6

For Light Weapons, the Convention provides thus:

“Portable arms designed to be used byseveral persons 5 Article 2 of the ECOWAS Convention 20066 Article 1 (2)

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working together in a team and whichinclude notably: heavy machine guns; portable grenadelaunchers, mobile or mounted; portable anti-aircraftcannons; portable anti- tank missile launchers or rocketlaunchers; portable anti- aircraft missile launchers; mortars witha caliber missile launchers; mortars with a caliber of lessthan 100 millimeters”7

From the tenor of the definition above, it has been

proven now that Small Arms are ones capable of

being handled and used by only one person while

Light Weapons have a denotation of portable arms

made for two or more persons working in concert as

a unit. An interesting part of the Convention is

the provision of “Other Related Materials”. This is

defined as:

“All components, parts or spare parts forsmall arms or light weapons and their ammunitions necessaryfor its functioning;

7 Article I (1)

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or any chemical substance serving asactive material used as propelling or explosive agent.”8

This provision preempts individuals who in an

attempt to outsmart or evade the law, would strip

into shreds or dismantle the arms and ammunitions

in order to take them away from the definition

ascribed to it by the Convention. In other words

dismantling the arms into parts is still within the

contemplation of the prohibition by the Convention.

So, both parts and whole arms and ammunitions,

caught up within these definitions are prohibited.

This is the awesomeness of the Convention.

Another novel and commendable provision of this

Convention is as it relates to “Non-State Actors”.

It defines them to mean:

“Such as any actor other than State Actors,Mercenaries armed militias, armed rebel groups andprivate security companies.”9

8 Article I (4)9 Article I (10)

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The Convention placed a prohibition on the transfer

of Small Arms and Light Weapons.

“Members state shall without exception,transfer small arms and light weapons to Non-StateActors that are not explicitly authorized by theimporting members.”10

The philosophy behind this article is the prevalent

security situation in the region where arm bearers

today are more of armed groups or gangs who use

this equipment to cause mayhem on the state

governance and the people. They use these weapons

to abuse and impede human freedoms and peace of the

community. Others use it to bring down government,

destroy lives and properties and render citizens

refugees or internally displaced. About ninety-

eight percent of these are caused by Non-State

Actors. Worthy of note also is the provisions on

weapons Marking, Tracing and Brokering.11 The

10 Article 3 (2) 11 Articles 18, 19 and 20

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Convention defines ‘Marking’ as inscriptions

permitting the identification of arms covered by

the convention.12 It also defines ‘Tracing’ as what;

“Indicates the systematic monitoring of themovements of small arms and light weapons and theirammunitions and other related materials from themanufacture until the end user, with a view to helping member statescompetent authorities to detect illicit manufactureand trading.”13

‘Brokering’ is

“Work carried out as an intermediary betweenany manufacturer, supplier or distributor ofsmall arms and light weapons and any buyer or user, thisincludes the provision of financial support and thetransportation of small arms and light weapons”.14

12 Article I (6)13 Article I (7)14 Article I (8)

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In ECOWAS sub-region, brokering constitutes a

novelty. This is so owing to the fact that majority

of member states considered that no arms brokers

were operating in the region and that arms transfer

were the prerogative of the state. Some state

officials expressed grave concerns that the article

on brokering would be a means of legitimization of

private brokers who may deal on the illicit arms

market. On the contrary, the lack of regulation of

brokering activities would constitute an

opportunity lost to oversee transfers through

brokers and if necessary sanction illicit

activities. Article 3 (1) of the Convention mandates

Members States to ban the transfer of small arms

and light weapons and their manufacturing materials

into their national territory or from or through

their national territory. On control of the

Manufacture of small arms and light weapons, articles

7 and 8 stipulate strict control by way of regulating

the activities of the local manufactures in light

of an overall policy of arms reduction and

limitation. It also provides for compiling

information on industrial manufacture where it

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exists and subjecting arms manufacturing activities

to certain requirements related to the provision of

precise information and to furnish same to the

ECOWAS Executive Secretariat.

Article 11 is a new initiative where in the Convention

requests member states to establish a register of

Small Arms and Light Weapons destined for use in

peacekeeping operations as a way of ensuring the

control of movement of SALW and for their effective

withdrawal at the end of the peace operations in

which the member states are participating. State

Parties are also expected to declare to the ECOWAS

secretariat all SALW used in the peace operations

and to declare to the Executive Secretary all the

small arms and light weapon seized, collected and

or destroyed during peace operations on their

territory and in ECOWAS region. In order to secure

an effective fight against SALW proliferation in

the region, the Convention provides thus:

“Member States shall prohibit thepossession, use and

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sale of light weapons by civilians. MemberState shall regulate the possession, use and sale ofsmall arms by civilians”.15

The Convention under these articles above

differentiated the import of the two weapons. The

possession, use and sale of light weapons by

civilians are completely banned. But the

possession, use and sale of small arms by civilians

are to be regulated by the state. Under the

regulation of small arms, certain authorization

procedure involves issuing a licence to the

civilian by the relevant authority. The convention

provides criteria to be met by the prospective

civilian applicant for the issuance of licence.16 By

virtue of Article 21, Members States are commanded by

the word “shall” to;

“Undertake to revise and update nationallegislation to ensure that the provisions in thisconvention are

15 Article 14 (1) and (2)16 Article 14 (4) (a-e)

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minimum standards for small arms and lightweapons control and their ammunition as well asother related materials”Also,

“Each member state shall adopt legislativeand other necessary measure to establish as acriminal offence the following cases: (a) any activitycarried out in violation of the provision of thisconvention; (b) any activity carried out in violation of anarms embargo imposed by the United Nations, theAfrican Union or ECOWAS.”17

So, State Parties to the Convention commit to

update, harmonize or amend their municipal

legislations to comply with the extant provisions

of the Convention. In order to have sanity in the

national borders of State Parties member states, in

collaboration with the ECOWAS Executive Secretary

shall strengthen sub-regional cooperation among all

17 Article 21 (2) (a-b)

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the relevant security agencies in combating the

illicit circulation of small arms and light

weapons.18 Again, Article 24 mandates member states to

establish through regulation or legislation a

National Commission, whose principal duty shall be

to fight against the illicit proliferation and

circulation of light weapons. The commission shall

be allocated a budget to ensure effective

functioning. Also, member states shall have a

National Action plan on small arms and light

weapons which shall be developed through a national

information gathering process involving all

relevant national stakeholders including civil

society.19

DOMESTICATION IN NIGERIA

In Nigerian, the ravaging effects of conflicts and

organized crimes midwifed by SALW over decades are

quite alarming. SALW have a capacity to embolden

their bearers to unleash mayhem and atrocious acts

18 Article 22 (a)19 See also Kerkol, l; “Analysis of the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons and Recommendations for the Development of an Action Plan”, in Group for Research and Information for Peace and Security (GRIP) 1st April, 2007 available at http://www.grip.org/bdg/g1071en.Pdf accessed on 30/6/2014.

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which result in loss of lives, property, prosperity

of individuals and the state. In the Niger Delta

region of Nigeria, militants use illegally obtained

SALW to kidnap oil company workers, sabotage oil

pipelines and equally engage in transnational trade

on stolen crude oil. It is on record that they also

commit piracy in the same process. What started

simply as an agitation for equitable distribution

of resources located in their domain divagated into

criminal agenda.

In 2010, Abia State particularly Aba City witnessed

a crescendo in the activities of the kidnapping

tango of a maniac called “Osisi-ka-nkwu”. This

group kidnapped, killed, maimed, robbed and raped

effortlessly with the willing aid of SALW. Ditto to

the ever unending Jos crises in Plateau State where

so many lives and properties have been lost as a

result of illicit SALW. The present insurgency in

the North East of Nigeria is clearly attributable

to the lack of proper boarder monitoring and

cooperative supervision by Nigeria and its

neighbouring countries. This porous boarder is

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feasted and exploited by Boko Haram to ship in SALW

into the country unmolested. The several attacks,

bombing (both suicide bombing and otherwise), the

senseless killing of civilians, soldiers are all

made possible by the illicit SALW. Nigeria’s

illicit SALW trade can be traced back to the

failure of a good legal regulation. This gave

impetus to growing crimes, endemic corruption and

ethno-religious conflicts. There have been also

widespread leakages from government armories.

In May, 2014, a group of men in Enugu audaciously

attempted to seize the Enugu Broadcasting Station

in order to take over administration in that state

and maybe extend same to other South Eastern State.

The group called themselves the Biafra Zionist

group. This is outside the seeming menace of

Movement for the Actualization of Biafra (MASSOB)

which is evident in that part of Nigeria. The Odua

Peoples Congress (OPC) is presently silent but may

rise from their slumber when demanded to. The

Egbesu boys, another militant group in the Midwest

is also another group this country will have to

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contend with if they arise. Another worry is

politicians and elections. These groups are

organized and armed with SALW in pursuant for the

realization of their objectives. SALW proliferation

is also connected to elections riggings in Nigeria.

Politicians arm political thugs for purposes of

election gains against their opponents.

The pictures above are grim and unfortunately are

the fireworks Nigeria has to contend with. The bad

news is that the present legal regulation on

manufacture, use, and transfer of SALW in Nigeria

is highly suspect and grossly inadequate. This

legal regime does not regulate contemporary and

new-purpose-built SALW which illicitly gain

entrance into the country and found their way into

the abode of armed gangs and Non-state actors which

end uses disturbs the peace of the nation and the

fabric of prosperity and human rights and

fundamental freedoms of the Nigerian people. In

order to arrest the pictures painted above, Nigeria

must do the needful. Having been the first nation

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in ECOWAS to ratify the ECOWAS Convention on SALW,20

it is time to benefit from the content of the said

Convention by making it our law through

domestication in line with Nigeria’s dualist legal

system.21 In the earlier part of this work, we did

an extensive analysis and discussion on the

contents and provisions of the Convention which

dwarfed and exposed the inadequacies of Nigeria’s

legal regime on SALW.

It must be noted that the principal statute that

deals with SALW is the Firearms Act.22 This is the

main instrument in Nigeria that addresses the

production, import, export, uses and transfer of

light weapons. However, other instruments which

supplement the firearms Act include: Robbery and

Firearms (Special Provisions)Act, the Defence

Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act, the Criminal

Code Act and the Penal Code Act. In July 2000, the

Federal Government set up a twelve-member National

20 Nigeria ratified in April 2013. The first out of Fifteen States that make up ECOWAS.21 See Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution.22 Firearms Act CAP. F28 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004. This instrument was promulgated in 1959.

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Committee on the Proliferation and Illicit

Trafficking in Small and Light Weapons (NATCOM)23

which was inaugurated in 2007. The mandate of this

institution is to gather information on the

proliferation of illicit trafficking in small arms

and light weapons and recommending appropriate

measures to deal with this challenge. The Firearms

Act despite its long existence has had just a few

lackluster alterations. It was reviewed in 1966 as

Firearms (Amendment) Decree No. 31 of 1966 which

increased the penalties for illegal dealing in or

possession of firearms. The Firearms Act definition

of what constitute “firearms” is skeletal and

scarcely mentions contemporary weapons as

completely captured by the ECOWAS Convention. This

deficiency can be taken advantage of by illicit

traffickers, users and manufacturers. I disagree

with the position held by Helen Chuma-Okoro when

she said that:

“Nigeria’s main statutory provisions onfirearms23 Also has NCPTAW as an acronym. See Vines, A., “Combating Light Weapons Proliferation in West Africa”, International Affairs, 81, 2 (2005) 31-360.

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are elastic enough to cover the types ofweapons referred to as SALW.”24

The definition contained in section 2 of the

Firearms Act lack accuracy and completeness with

respect to arms and ammunitions of today. The Act,

as presently constituted lacks the deterrent muscle

to tackle proliferation of illicit arms. The

penalties for contravention is inadequate and

enforcement mechanism is hamstrung by weak

institutions and political will. Moreso, the

Firearms Act does not have the sense of urgency

which the situation commands now as evident in the

Convention.

CONCLUSIONS

In view of the fragile security situation Nigeria

finds itself at the moment which demand pragmatic

and progressive solution and attention, the ECOWAS

Convention on SALW having being ratified by

24 Chuma-okoro, H,.”Proliferation of small Arms and Light weapons in Nigeria: Legal implications” in Law and Security in Nigeria, 2011

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Nigeria urgently needs to be enacted into law for

our domestic use. This is because of its innovative

step in the fight against illicit arms

proliferation in West Africa. It addresses several

challenges to human and state security, including

violence, cross-border drug and human trafficking,

money laundering, smuggling and armed robberies,

all linked to and sustained by SALW proliferation.

In addition, the various insurrections and large

scale armed violence in Nigeria are also ignited

and emboldened by easy access to these weapons. The

passage into an Act of this ratified Convention25

will enhance physical safety, socioeconomic

security and indeed political stability and

quietude in Nigeria.

25 Just like the Terrorism (Prevention)(Amendment) Act 2013 which share similar nature.

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