The house of representatives has
called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rescind an executive order mopping up
guns with private individuals.
The lower legislative chamber
made the call on Thursday after adopting a motion seeking to revoke the
“executive order to remove, revoke and banish all firearms certificates and
licences throughout the federation”.
It said mopping up the guns would
expose citizens to dangers and deny them self defense.
Nnenna Ukeje from Abia state, who
sponsored the motion, said Buhari recently signed the executive order that is
to take effect on June 1, 2019.
We could not immediately
confirm the contents of the order as Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, presidential
spokespersons, were not reachable when this report was filed.
According to Ukeje, while there
is need for gun control, withdrawing legal guns would mean “only illegal guns
will be in circulation and only criminals will own guns.”
“One would have thought that
government position will be to domesticate international conventions that have
proven around the world to be effective in curbing proliferation small arms and
light weapons,” she said.
Most of the lawmakers also agreed
with Ukeje’s submission as they argued there should be clear provisions for
getting a gun licence rather than retrieving all the ones granted.
Alexander Adekola from Ekiti
state said the executive order will make Nigerians vulnerable to attack.
“This executive order is to make
everybody in Nigeria vulnerable. Are they saying people use them to kidnap or
kill? No. It is the kidnappers and armed robbers that are using it without
licence,” he said.
Simon Arabo from Kaduna state
argued that “you cannot use an executive order to override a lawfully acquired
weapon.”
According to him, “if most of the
weapons are being used illegally, it is for the security to go and tackle that.
Not for people who have theirs legally. I think that executive order if it has
been signed, should be overwritten.”
Mojeed Alabi from Osun state,
however, supported mopping up the guns on the ground that the police “has no
clear criteria for issuing a gun licence” in Nigeria “except you want to give
them money.”
“So people take guns without any
procedure visible to all of us. If the police do not have a full regulations
guiding ownership or acquisition of guns, then I will advise they be
withdrawn,” he said.
“The procedure is wrong and
because of that, the president is right to say they withdraw it. Let them come
up with regulations.”
The lawmakers subsequently voted
against the order and urged the president to withdraw it.
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