The West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately declare a six-month national gun amnesty programme as part of urgent efforts to curb rising insecurity, kidnapping, and banditry across Nigeria.

In a statement following the ECOWAS Annual Coordinating Meeting of National Commissions on Small Arms in Ghana, WAANSA’s Regional Vice President, Igwe Martin Nnamdi, proposed that the amnesty begin on 10 December 2025, coinciding with International Human Rights Day. The initiative would allow individuals in possession of illegal or unregistered firearms to surrender them at designated centres approved by the Office of the National Security Adviser, without fear of prosecution.

The group also recommended a nationwide arms-registration exercise to ensure that legally owned weapons are properly tracked, aiming to reduce the proliferation of illicit arms and related violent crimes.

In addition to disarmament, WAANSA urged the President to order the immediate reopening of schools nationwide, warning that ongoing closures due to insecurity threaten the future of Nigerian children. The group further called for strengthened border security, noting that porous borders are being exploited by criminal networks to smuggle weapons and facilitate cross-border crime.

WAANSA stressed that the swift implementation of these measures could significantly reduce insecurity and protect citizens across the country.