2027: Stakeholders Warn Small Arms Could Fuel Electoral Violence
Princess-Ekwi Ajide (ABS Abuja Bureau Chief)
As Nigeria inches closer to the 2027 elections, security and civil society stakeholders have warned that the unchecked proliferation of small arms and light weapons could deepen electoral violence and other security threats.
The warning came at the 2026 United Nations National Peace Conference in Abuja, organised by the West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA), where stakeholders called for stronger border controls, weapons management and community-based peacebuilding.
The keynote speaker, Princess Edna Azura, National President of the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) Nigeria, urged political parties, candidates, supporters and security agencies to reject violence and misinformation ahead of the polls.
She cautioned that elections must never become battlefields, announcing plans to mobilise women nationwide as peace ambassadors, conflict mediators and election observers.
The Regional Director, National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, Abdul Enenche identified illicit firearms as a major driver of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and communal violence.
Jacob Nyaga Mundia of HALO Trust called for tighter control of weapons and ammunition stockpiles, warning that theft, diversion and misuse could fuel instability.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the first Regional Vice President of WAANSA, Martin Igwe, had called for stronger coordination among government, civil society and traditional institutions to prevent conflict.
The stakeholders said securing the 2027 elections must begin long before polling day, with a collective focus on preventing violence, controlling illicit weapons and strengthening peace at community level.
