The recent arrest in Maiduguri of five men with deadly weapons bound for Plateau and Taraba states has raised fresh security concerns over the proliferation of illicit arms in this country. The State Security Service (SSS) said it arrested the suspects with rocket launchers, AK47 rifles and cash amounting to N4.8 million heading for the two states. The weapons were said to have been brought into the country from Cameroon.

This is particularly disturbing in view of the fact that both Plateau and Taraba states have witnessed violent sectarian clashes in recent years. Hundreds of people have died and thousands have been rendered homeless in those bloody clashes. For this reason a detailed investigation must be made into the circumstances of this arms' trafficking attempt. As the nation prepares for the 2011 general elections, politically-motivated violence will inevitably become more frequent. To prevent this, the nation's security agencies must spare no effort to stop the stockpiling of arms by individuals and groups.

Therefore, while we commend the SSS for the successful Maiduguri operation, we hasten to add that more needs to be done in that direction. There is a dire need to increase vigilance in all our country's borders with neighbouring African states, as they are currently so porous that all sorts of trafficking activities, from drugs to human and arms, are said to be regular occurrences.

Borno State, which shares a border with Cameroon Republic to the east, Chad Republic to the north-east and Niger Republic to the north, is one of the most active entry points used by traffickers to, or from, the country. Indeed, investigations have shown that through Borno's land borders one can get access right into North Africa and link up with Europe by road. The Central African Republic is also accessible by road from Borno State. This is why some of the dramatic arrests made by Nigeria Customs Service were made at Borno borders.

In 2008 about 1,000 Chadian refugees fled into Gamboru town in Borno while running away from a fight between rebels and government troops. In the same year, a suspected human trafficker from Edo State, Amina Musa Elaite, was arrested in the state trying to cross the border with four young women aged between 19 and 24. Before the end of that year, 20 bags of Indian hemp were handed over to the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency by men of the Nigeria Customs Service who got them from a drug trafficker who abandoned them and escaped.

All these are a few instances from only one border zone of the country. By the time we take an inventory of what happens in all our other border zones, including sea borders, we will have a grim picture of how easily things can move in and out of this country undetected. For this reason Nigerian authorities must strengthen our intelligence gathering mechanism so that, with enough information, our security agencies can easily intercept and arrest all traffickers. All of the nation's borders should have tighter screening methods. All our entry ports should have patrol boats at coastal borders.

The proliferation of small arms is an issue of such great concern in the West African sub-region that even the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has had several meetings on ways to curtail the menace. This is why the Maiduguri Five must be prosecuted and punished in accordance with the laws against arms' trafficking. Making an example out of them will serve as a deterrent to those who will toy with the security of our nation by engaging in stock-piling and selling of arms to our increasingly volatile public.