21 May 2009
Lagos — Forty years after the Nigerian civil war, local mines have been discovered in some states in the eastern part of Nigeria.
Mr Etim Eno of the Department of Research and Development, Ministry of Defence, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at an international seminar titled "Towards implementation of ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons".
He listed the states where explosives had been identified by a civil society consultant as Imo, Rivers, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Akwa Ibom, among others. Eno said the Federal Government had set up an inter-ministerial committee to help monitor the activities of the consultant to ensure security and clearance of the affected areas. "The Federal Govern-ment set up the committee just to monitor the activities of the consultant to be sure that they are working in accordance with the Treaty on mines," he said.
Eno said the mines identified were not the conventional mines, adding that most of them were 'bucket bombs' produced locally during the civil war and buried in remote areas of the affected states.Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Abuja, Ms. Anahita Kar, said there was need to enforce legislation on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the sub-region.
She said it was surprising that mines were discovered in Nigeria, considering that the country was never mentioned at most international conferences on humanitarian activities concerning mines.Kar said weapons like blinding laser, exploding bullet and land mines should not be used during and after warfare.' 'These weapons affect the country especially women and children as they move about in their daily activities long after the war," she said.
Also speaking, Head, Small Arms Unit of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Cyriaque Agnekethom, charged member-states on the ratification and implementation of the ECOWAS convention on small arms and light weapons.He said the Commission was putting in place a monitoring mechanism comprised of independent experts to ensure the implementation of the Protocol.
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