Nigeria has urged the international community to refrain from what it called “naming and shaming” the country over the significant security challenges it currently faces.

 

 

 

The call was made by the Chargé d’Affaires, Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN, Mr. Syndoph Endoni, during his address to the United Nations Security Council in New York.

 

 

He spoke on the critical issue of the Illicit Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and Its Impact on the Sahel Region.

 

 

The Nigerian envoy stressed that the unchecked flow of these weapons has exacerbated conflicts, prolonged insurgencies, and intensified the activities of terrorist and violent extremist groups. This has led to the wanton destruction of innocent lives and property.

 

 

 

The human toll, including lives lost, communities displaced and livelihoods destroyed, reminds us that this is not merely a security issue but a profound humanitarian and developmental concern,” he said.

 

 

“We condemn these criminal acts, particularly those perpetrated through the use of these readily available small arms, because they are inhuman, wicked and outrightly unacceptable.

 

 

“We wish to stress that it is not by naming and shaming that we can solve this enormous problem, but only by working together that the problem can be solved.”

 

 

Nigeria’s statement was against the background of the U.S. designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged Christian genocide, which the Nigerian authorities have rejected.