Foloowing the success recorded in the Whistle-blowing policy in Nigeria, the federal government has decided to extend whistleblowing beyond financial crimes, to illegal ownership of small arms and light weapons.
The Presidency has started drawing up the rules of a whistle-blower mechanism to throw a spotlight on the regime of gun ownership and control in the country.The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publcity, Mr Garba Shehu, in a statement said the move was made to disarm communities, especially those with an inclination to violence.
He added that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), has started working on a template for uncovering illegal weapons through a reward system, similar to the Whistle-blower Policy under the Ministry of Finance.
“The ONSA initiative may be an independent line of inquiry or in active collaboration with what the government is doing in Finance. This will be a sort of searchlight on weapons ownership in the country.
“Whatever form or shape it takes, the administration wants to take a tough line to curtail the large number of illegal weapons in circulation used in intra and inter-communal conflicts,” the President’s spokesman explained.
