Gov’t Bans Sale of Firearms in Six Regions

By Innocent Kum in Yaounde

Government has banned the sale of small arms and ammunitions in six regions

 of the country, including the  North West and South West regions

The decision is the main substance of a communiqué issued last Wednesday by Territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji.

            The regions concerned include the Littoral, Adamawa, Centre, West, North West and South West regions.

            The exact reasons for the prohibition of arms trade in only six of Cameroon’s ten regions was not stated, but the communiqué of the minister said “...government has prohibited, until further notice, the sale of hunting and protection weapons and their ammunitions in the Adamawa, Centre, Littoral, West, North West and South West regions”, according to a statement.

            Minister Atanga Nji’s communiqué also said an inventory will be taken of all existing stocks of arms and ammunitions for easy control and tracking in the regions concerned.

            The statement revealed that the proliferation and illicit circulation of firearms has taken a geometric proportion recently and it now constitutes a real threat to public order and security.

            “Today, the number of firearms in circulation far exceeds the number of authorizations duly granted by the competent authorities,” the communiqué noted.

            Holders of unauthorized weapons were therefore urged to hand them over to local authorities while those with authorized weapons were told to present the authorization documents to the competent authorities for authentification.

            Minister Atanga Nji’s ban on possession and circulation of guns comes to confirm that of the NW Governor who in February 2018 also imposed a temporal ban on the sale of firearms in the region.

South west governor, had earlier in the month of November last year, issued a similar ban.

            It is understood that the use of modern firearms without permission is on a rise in the country.