Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has issued a stark warning over the country’s deepening vulnerability to global insecurity, revealing that it is home to 40 per cent of the estimated 500 million illegal small arms and light weapons circulating in West Africa.
Delivering a lecture in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday, Gen Musa said these illicit weapons—largely trafficked from conflict zones across the Sahel and North Africa—are fuelling terrorism, banditry and ethnic violence, particularly in the country’s northern regions.
Speaking at the second Distinguished Personality Lecture hosted by the TETFund Centre of Excellence in Security Management at the University of Ibadan’s Trenchard Hall, Musa described Nigeria’s internal security woes as part of a wider global crisis of fragility.
“Over 500 million illicit small arms and light weapons are circulating in West Africa, and an estimated 40 per cent of these weapons end up in Nigeria,” he said. “These weapons, often smuggled from conflict zones in the Sahel and North Africa, have empowered terrorists, bandits, and ethnic militias, escalating violence in Nigeria’s northern regions.”
The defence chief warned that Nigeria’s porous borders and the weakening of governance structures in rural areas have made the country a prime target for transnational threats, with wider implications for regional and global peace.
“Fragile states are no longer isolated issues,” he said. “They pose a direct threat to global stability—and Nigeria is not immune.”
He cited a confluence of external and internal forces undermining national security, including economic shocks, environmental degradation, cyber threats, and the transnational flow of arms and extremist ideologies.
Musa also expressed concern over the weaponisation of social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, which, he said, are now being used to spread disinformation, radicalise youth, and foment ethnic tensions.
“Security threats have evolved. It’s not just about bullets and boots anymore—it’s also about algorithms and ideology,” he said.
To confront the crisis, Gen Musa called for a multi-pronged approach, including:
Full implementation of Nigeria’s National Defence Policy with a multi-agency security response
Improved border control using fencing, surveillance technology, and trained personnel
Deeper collaboration with neighbouring states and international allies to halt arms trafficking
Structural investment in youth employment, education and agriculture to reduce recruitment into violent groups
Strengthened civic institutions and greater national dialogue to rebuild social cohesion
“Resilience, innovation and collective political will are our best weapons now,” he said. “No country is an island in today’s security landscape.”
The Chairman of the event, former Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (retd.), represented by Lt Gen Lamidi Adeosun (retd.), echoed Musa’s concerns, urging a shift towards community-based intelligence and early-warning systems to address threats before they escalate.
Also speaking, University of Ibadan Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode Adebowale, hailed the lecture as a timely intersection between research and real-world security leadership.
“Today’s discussion bridges the gap between academic insight and field experience. This is how we develop evidence-based solutions to Nigeria’s most pressing challenges,” he said.
Director of the Centre, Benjamin Aluko, described Gen Musa’s address as a “landmark moment” for the University’s security programme.
“Your insights will enrich our research and equip a new generation of security professionals with practical strategies,” he said.
