Despite Nigeria’s strict gun ownership laws, the country remains the region’s largest illicit small arms market, adding to the nation’s dire security crisis. Inefficient law enforcement and security services have led to an exasperated citizenry willing to do anything to protect their lives and livelihoods.
The Christmas Eve bandit attacks on farming communities in north-central Nigeria that killed 195 people and destroyed over 1 290 houses further place the issue of private gun ownership at the centre of public discourse. These events have renewed countrywide calls by groups and individuals for Nigerians to be allowed to carry arms to defend themselves against militias, terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminals. Last year, the Zamfara State government even advised residents to obtain guns to protect themselves against terrorists and bandits in Nigeria’s north-west. The country’s 65-year-old Firearms Act restricts gun ownership and possession to those with a licence from the president or the Inspector General of Polic