The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) was established on May 3, 2021 in accordance with Article 24 of ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons. In pursuance of this, and the need to rejig Nigeria’s security architecture to address emerging threats, the President Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), approved the establishment of the Centre through an Executive Directive for the immediate start-off of the Centre. Accordingly, Major General AM Dikko (Retired) was appointed the First National Coordinator of the Centre.

The Centre is domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and will serve as the focal point for the control, prevention and regulation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). The Centre would also serve as a robust and functional regional institutional mechanism for policy guidance, research and monitoring of all aspects of SALW in the country in close collaboration with stakeholders and other countries in the West African Sub-region.