The Impact of Illegal Small Arms and Light Weapons on Conflict in The Niger Delta of Nigeria

Abstract

Small arms and light weapons (SALWs) constitute one of the most persistent security challenges in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, sustaining decades of armed violence through their excessive availability and illegal circulation. This study examines the historical evolution, drivers, and impact of illegal SALW proliferation on the intensity and duration of armed conflict in the Niger Delta, from the pre-colonial period to the contemporary petroleum era. The study adopts a historical research design, drawing on documentary evidence from intergovernmental reports and published scholarship, and analyses it through historical and content analysis within a human security theoretical framework. It was found that the illegal proliferation of SALWs, which is traceable to the transatlantic slave trade, colonial conquest, Cold War-era arms transfers, and postindependence petroleum politics, has sustained militarisation and normalised armed violence in the region, with far-reaching social, cultural, economic, and political consequences for Niger Delta communities. It concludes that the persistence of armed conflict in the Niger Delta cannot be fully understood without accounting for the historical depth and continuing supply of illegal SALWs. The study recommends stringent and coordinated arms control measures, strengthened border and maritime surveillance, and community-based disarmament and reintegration programmes as means to curb the conflict in the Niger Delta.