The United Nations has revealed that some weapons looted during the Libyan conflict in 2011 ended up in the hands of extremist groups in Nigeria, highlighting that arms proliferation across the Sahel region has caused long-term devastation across communities and undermined peace-building efforts.
Addressing delegates on the spread of illicit firearms on Tuesday, at the UN headquarters in New York, United States, the UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, said looted weapons fuel violence in communities long after wars have ended.
She disclosed that weapons looted during the 2011 conflict in Libya resurfaced across the Sahel region, including in Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso, where some were later recovered from extremist and terrorist groups.
“Libya, where weapons looted or diverted during and after the 2011 conflict, which ended the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, later surfaced across the wider Sahel region, including in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria.
“Some were subsequently found in the hands of extremist groups, illustrating how arms from one conflict can destabilise neighbouring countries years later.
“The end of the conflict does not mean the end of the circulation of those weapons; it stays, and it continues to harm people,” she said.
The UN official explained that firearms retained by armed groups, militias and communities for self-defence often contribute to renewed violence, making post-conflict recovery more difficult. According to her, weapons used in conflict would continue to circulate, crossing borders and fuelling crime.
She further linked the spread of illicit weapons to terrorism, organised crime, human rights abuses and gender-based violence, stressing that the issue extends beyond security and affects development and governance.
Nakamitsu’s comment comes as Nigeria continues to battle terrorism, banditry and other forms of armed violence, particularly in the North-East and parts of the North-West, where security agencies have repeatedly raised concerns over the influx of illicit weapons through porous borders. The armed militia are now moving from the Niger-Kwara axis to Oyo State where they recently abducted about 45 schoolchildren and teachers.
Security experts have long warned that the collapse of Libya under the weight of the 2011 uprising that toppled the regime of Muammar Gaddafi opened a major channel for the movement of weapons into West Africa, strengthening insurgent and terrorist groups across the region.
