trafficking of small arms and light weapons (salw) in west africa

148 Pages·2014·1.77 MB·English

TRAFFICKING OF SMALL ARMS AND
LIGHT WEAPONS (SALW) IN WEST AFRICA :
ROUTES AND ILLEGAL ARM CACHES BETWEEN
GHANA, TOGO, BENIN AND NIGERIA
Rt. Lt-Col. Seth Ohene-Asare | Félix Aklavon | Théonas Moussou | Prof. Augustine Ikelegbe
UNREC
TRAFFICKING OF SMALL ARMS AND
LIGHT WEAPONS (SALW) IN WEST AFRICA :
ROUTES AND ILLEGAL ARM CACHES BETWEEN
GHANA, TOGO, BENIN AND NIGERIA
Editors Authors of Country Reports:
Simon Asoba Ghana, Rt. Lt-Col. Seth Ohene-Asare
Rodger Glokpor Togo, Félix Aklavon
Bénin, Théonas Moussou
Nigeria, Prof. Augustine Ikelegbe

First Edition
Abuja December 2014
Editorial Team
Simon Asoba
Roger Glokpor
Colby Goodman
Karl Wagner
Christina Arabia
Nancy Mua Nsih
Design and Layout:
Samson Nnah, [email protected]
Printed by Single Vision Limited, Abuja, Nigeria
[email protected]
© Copyright with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or recording current
known or later invented without prior approval of the holders of the copyrights. Short
excerpts may be quoted, provided the source is fully acknowledged. The views
expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and are in no way an official
position of the institutions that commissioned the studies.
ISBN: 978 - 978 - 944 - 801 - 4

V
Table of Content
About the Authors VII
Preface VIII
Introduction X
Part One: Summary of Results and Recommendations 1
Origin of Illicit SALW 1
Internal and External illicit SALW Trade Routes 1
Illicit SALW concealment tactics 1
Status of Craft Production of SALW 2
Types of the most trafficked SALW 2
correlation between armed violence and illicit SALW trade
Demand Factors for SALW 3
The challenges faced by the government in controlling the illicit
trade of SALW 3
Part Two: Country studies on routes and illicit arms caches
between Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria 5
A - Routes and Illegal Arms Caches in Ghana 6
Chapter 1: Background and Problem of SALW in Ghana 6
Chapter 2: Research Approach and Methodology 13
Chapter 3: Observations on the Study and Results 21
Chapter 4: Availability of Small arms and Light Weapons 29
Chapter 5: Local Craft Manufacture by Blacksmiths 35
Chapter 6: Ghana Legislation on Small Arms and Light Weapons 39
Chapter 7: Recommendations 43
B - Routes and Illegal arms Caches in Togo 47
Introduction 51
I - Background and Justification of Study 51
VI
II- Methodological Framework 53
III-Presentation and Interpretation of Data 57
Conclusion and Recommendations 65

C - Routes and Illegal arms Caches in Benin 67
Introduction 71
I - Background 70
II- Methodology for the Study 71
III-Presentation and Interpretation of Results 81
IV-Way Forward and Recommendations 84
Conclusion 88
D. Routes and Illegal arms Caches in Nigeria 91
Executive summary 95
Introduction 96
I- Methodology 99
II- Proliferation and ownership structure 102
III- Sources of SALW 103
IV- Patterns and dynamics of salw trafficking 110
V- Regulatory frameworks 116
VI- Findings 119
VII- Recommendations 120
Conclusion 122
VII
About the Authors
Rt. Lt. Col. Seth Ohene-Asare is Chairman of the National Commission on Small
Arms Ghana since August 2009. In this capacity, he oversaw a team of the
commission that conducted this study. He was for several years an instructor in the
Ghana Army, and has held numerous leadership positions including Director of
Security Services.
Félix Kokou H. Aklavon is an independent consultant on small arms. He was a
former Vice-Chairman of WANEP TOGO (West African Network for Peacebuilding),
Chairman of the Action Network on Small Arms (RASALT), Chairman of the Board of
Directors of the National Association of Civil Society Organisations Togo (CNSC) and is
currently a member of the International Advisory Committee of the International
Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA).
Théonas Moussou, a graduate of Political Science, is an independent consultant on
human rights and development issues. He has conducted several field studies
including the study on improving techniques for the clearing of mines,
decontamination, and destruction of SALW.
Prof. Augustine O. Ikelegbe teaches Public Comparative Politics at the University of
Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. He has several publications to his credit on militia and self-
defence groups and the scourge of siphoning oil in Nigeria.
VIII
Preface
Dear reader, no doubt you are so used to reading several reports on the now common
subject of small arms and light weapons that you are inclined to consider this
document as yet another one!
We¹ have pledged to overcome this indifference, and to renew your interest in the
current realities of this global problem of collective security which fosters terrorism
and organised crime. The study in your hands tackles the problem from a new angle: a
surgical operation into the heart of the network of circulation of SALW in West Africa.
Rather than reading another negative account of the consequences of the
proliferation and circulation of illicit small arms, you will embark on a trip along the
routes of the traffickers and into the caches of the artisanal manufacturer who is
becoming increasingly ingenious; you will see first-hand the strategies arms
smugglers use to hide their weapons; you will experience what is known as “porous
borders” and the poor border control services; finally, and without being exhaustive,
you will experience some of the motivations driving illicit arms trafficking.
The circulation and manufacture of illicit SALW is as much a source of livelihood for
ordinary citizens as it is the cause of much blood shedding and bereavement for
several others. Somewhat regrettably, our resources do not allow us to extend the
scope of our study beyond four neighbouring countries in West Africa - Ghana, Togo,
Benin and Nigeria. The facts described below, however, may very well reflect the
situation all over the sub-region.
1. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the United Nations Centre for Peace and Disarmament (UNREC) jointly com-
missioned the “Study on Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons in West Africa: Illicit Routes and Caches
between Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria”.

Ÿ UNREC was created by the United Nations General Assembly (Resolution A/res/40/151/G) and estab-lished
since 1986 in Lomé, Togo, with the mandate to “provide, upon request, substantive support for ini-tiatives
and other efforts of Member States of the African region towards the realization of measures of peace,
arms limitations and disarmament in the region” www.unrec.org for more details.
Ÿ FES, a German political foundation committed to social democratic values, was established in 1925 and has
more than one hundred offices all over the world. The Abuja office, in charge of the “West Africa Security
Policy Project” is working to strengthen the interface between democracy and security policy. Thus it
facilitates policy dialogue platforms on threats to security and their responses Cf.
www.fes-westafrica.org for more details.
IX
At the end of this expedition, you may very well arrive at the same observations and
recommendations as the authors of the four country reports: the social tragedy of
arms trafficking is no doubt complex and disturbing but far from being irremediable
and desperate. With a measure of political will, internal organization and
international cooperation, if member States take realistic measures within their
sovereign powers and their international commitments in the area of arms control,
they can overcome or at least reduce illegal arms smuggling significantly.
Dear reader, this report was compiled at the end of a long process, with the
contributions and assistance of several actors, to whom we are deeply grateful. We
hope you will derive as much pleasure as lessons to build your capacity, harmonize
and coordinate your efforts with those of all those who are working to prevent,
combat and eliminate the proliferation and circulation of illicit small arms and light
weapons in West Africa.
Marco Kalbusch, Felix Henkel,
Director, UNREC, Coordinator, FES
Lomé, Togo Regional Office, Abuja, Nigeria