Over 1m unlicensed weapons in circulation – Small Arms Commission

The National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons has disclosed that approximately 1.1 million small arms and light weapons circulating within the country cannot be properly traced or accounted for.

According to the commission, this number of unaccounted-for weapons, out of a total of 2.3 million currently in circulation, poses a significant danger to the nation’s security.

Speaking on the sidelines of a regional conference focused on addressing the humanitarian impact of improvised anti-personal mines, the Head of the National Arms Marking Programme at the commission, Frank Boateng Asumani, emphasized ongoing efforts to minimize the proliferation of these arms.

“Currently, we have 2.3 million small and light weapons in circulation, out of which 1.2 million are legally registered and the remaining 1.1 million cannot be accounted for and so the commission is currently looking for funding to know the level of proliferation we have in the system. We are talking about AK47s, pistols, pump-action guns, and locally manufactured guns.”

Meanwhile, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has urged countries, including Libya, Egypt, and Morocco, to endeavour

towards the ratification of the convention banning anti-personnel mines to avert humanitarian consequences caused by them.