{"id":2860,"date":"2022-08-24T10:17:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T10:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/?p=2860"},"modified":"2022-08-24T10:33:51","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T10:33:51","slug":"senate-passes-bill-for-establishment-of-a-national-commission-for-coordination-and-control-of-small-arms-and-light-weapons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/placng.org\/Legist\/senate-passes-bill-for-establishment-of-a-national-commission-for-coordination-and-control-of-small-arms-and-light-weapons\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Passes Bill for Establishment of a National Commission for Coordination and Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At last, the Senate has passed for Third Reading, the National Commission for the Coordination and Control of the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons Bill, 2022. The Senate passed the bill at its plenary on 26th<\/sup> July 2022.\u00a0 This would be the first time the bill has passed in either house of the National Assembly since it was first introduced in the 7th<\/sup> National Assembly. The bill is the product of the consolidation of three bills on the subject passed by the Senate for Second Reading at different times as follows: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The Nigeria National Commission against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Establishment, etc) Bill, 2020 (SB. 283) – \u00a0February 2020;<\/li>
  2. The Nigeria National Commission against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Establishment, etc) Bill, 2020 (SB. 513) – November 2020; and <\/li>
  3. The National Centre for the Coordination and Control of the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Establishment, etc) Bill, 2021 (SB. 794) [Executive bill<\/em>]\u00a0 in November 2021. \u00a0<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The three bills primarily seek to establish a body\nwith the responsibility to coordinate and implement activities aimed at\ncombating the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria, in line\nwith Article 24 of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Convention\non the Proliferation of Small Arms and light Weapons, their Ammunition and\nRelated Matters. The Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence to\nwhich the bills were referred, resolved to consolidate the three bills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The ECOWAS Convention on the Proliferation of Small\nArms and Light Weapons was adopted on 14th<\/sup> June 2006 and came into\neffect in 2009. The Convention seeks to promote the establishment of\na regional database of arms, enhance weapons\u2019 control at border posts, review and\nharmonise legislation and administrative procedures governing small arms, as\nwell as the destruction of surplus and unauthorised weapons. In addition, it seeks to\npromote a culture of peace and  facilitate education and public awareness\non the issues of small arms and light weapons (SALW).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Convention requires member States of the ECOWAS to\nset up independent commissions to implement its resolutions on small arms and\nlight weapons in the West African sub-region. Among other functions, these\ncommissions are expected to share information and experience. Almost all the countries\nin the sub-region have set up their respective Commissions but Nigeria is yet\nto do so. In Nigeria, a major issue with the passage of a bill for this purpose\nwas the creation of an independent body as required by the Convention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It will be recalled that in May 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the establishment of a National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons<\/strong> <\/a>to be domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), to replace the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons. Retired Major General A.M. Dikko was appointed as National Coordinator of the Centre. However, the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence resolved that pursuant to the objectives of the bill on the subject, establishing a \u2018National Commission\u2019 rather than a \u2018National Centre\u2019 as an independent body (as opposed to a dependent agency) will be better suited towards implementing measures aimed at control of illicit arms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The consolidated bill for the establishment of the\nNational Commission for the Coordination and Control of the Proliferation of\nSmall Arms and Light Weapons seeks to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n