President Bola Tinubu has agreed to the selection of DIG Johnson Kokumo (retd.) as the new Manager of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons under the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Kokumo takes over from Major-General AM Dikko (retd.), who was appointed as the first Manager by former President Muhammadu Buhari on May 3, 2021.
The appointment was declared on Tuesday by the Presidency in a statement signed by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, titled ‘President Tinubu appoints new coordinator for the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.’
Ngelale described Kokumo as a skilled law enforcement professional with over 30 years of experience in crime prevention, management, analysis, and control.
He served as Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department, Force Headquarters, Abuja, from 2022 to 2023.
The President hopes the new Coordinator will use his extensive experience and expertise to improve the Centre and develop new strategies to solve the problem of arms proliferation, which is a major cause of insecurity in the country.
The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons was formed on May 3, 2021, by an Executive directive by Buhari.
This action was in accordance with Article 24 of the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons.
At the time, the Presidency said the Centre would take the place of the defunct Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons and would be the institutional mechanism for policy guidance, research, and monitoring of all aspects of Small Arms and Light Weapons.
NCCSALW’s formation was part of the reorganization of Nigeria’s security structure to tackle emerging threats and strengthen regional mechanisms for the control, prevention, and regulation of SALW.
