The Impact of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the

The proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) worldwide to Africa, specifically, Northern Nigeria heralded the explosion of social crises which culminated in the insecurity situation in the region for more than a decade now. Armed conflicts emanated from the effects of the spread of SALW across the Northeast which manifested in the Boko Haram insurgency, farmers-herders conflict and armed banditry as well as ethnoreligious conflicts in addition to kidnappings in the region. This study is a critical and thorough investigation of the SALW in exacerbating armed conflicts in general in Northeastern part of Nigeria. The problem is the scenario in which the armed conflicts are threatening to entirely destabilised the region and the manner in which the SALW are increasing despite the global efforts to contain their spread for security reasons. This research used a qualitative method of data collection and analysis. Both the primary and secondary sources were used. The primary source was the interview conducted with selected informants in the relevant area of study. The secondary source was the use of available literature on the subject matter of study and the discussions were made using thematic analytical interpretations. The research discovered that the rampant armed conflicts in Northern Nigeria is the reminiscent of the spread of SALW in the region which tantamount to the present critical security situation. The work recommends among other numerous suggestions that efforts should be intensified in intelligence gathering to detect the networking of the racketeers in the armed business and contain them appropriately.