Title: Obasanjo inaugurates panel on light arms' control
The Guardian May 1, 2001 by Jide Olatunji A NATIONAL Committee on ECOWAS Moratorium on Small Arms and Light Weapons has been inaugurated by President Olusegun Obasanjo to check their circulation. Obasanjo told members of the Musa A. Yahaya-led panel in Abuja yesterday, that effective discharge of their duties will boost the country's image. "The performance of this committee have a positive impact on the image of Nigeria within the ECOWAS sub-region and in the comity of nations as a country dedicated to ensuring peace and stability within and outside its borders," he said in a statement. The circulation of illicit arms, the President noted accounts for series of protracted wars in the sub-region. At the function, Bimbola Ogunkelu, Co-operation and Integration in Africa, minister said weapons was subsequently signed by ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in Lome on December 10, 1999. "To ensure the success of this laudable programme," Ogunkelu said, "the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Programme for Co-ordination and Assistance for Security and Development (PCASED) will provide the needed technical assistance required while the European Union has indicated its willingness to assist." Lawrence Alobi representing the Nigeria Police Force, Dauda Danladi of Defence Ministry, and Udoh of the Defence Industries Corporation (DIC), Kaduna, are also members of the committee. Others are representatives of the State Security Services (SSS), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Nigeria Customs Service and Ministry of Internal Affairs. The panel was set up as part of the structure for the implementation of the ECOWAS moratorium - referred to as "strategy first." The committee which has its secretariat in the Collective Defence and Security Department of the Ministry of Co-operation and Integration in Africa will undertake task of establishing a culture of peace, small and light weapons register and data bank, weapons control enhancement at border posts and facilitate dialogue with the producers/suppliers.