Discussions about the security crisis unfolding across West Africa often focus on terrorism, banditry, insurgency, and organised crime. Yet beneath each of these threats lies a common enabler: the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons.
From the forests of southern Nigeria to the Sahelian corridors stretching through Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, illegal firearms have become the currency of insecurity. They fuel insurgencies, empower criminal networks, intensify communal conflicts and undermine state authority. While international attention often focuses on spectacular attacks by extremist groups, the deeper challenge is the steady and largely invisible movement of weapons across porous borders.
For policymakers, security agencies and investors, understanding these weapons flows has become essential to understanding the future stability of West Africa itself.
The myth of foreign weapons invasion
One of the most persistent misconceptions about illicit weapons in West Africa is that they primarily originate from outside the continent.
This post was originally published on this site.
