A security specialist has called on the Federal Government to urgently remove or safely dispose of roughly 1,600 unexploded munitions left over from the Nigerian Civil War, warning that continued delay poses serious risks to nearby communities.
Prof. Bala Yakubu, a bomb disposal expert, said the explosives recovered from former battlefields since 2015 are currently stored at the Mine Action Centre in Owerri, Imo State. He explained that clearing and destroying the devices is essential to prevent potential accidents.
Yakubu noted that his firm, Deminers Concept, was contracted during the administration of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to eliminate explosive threats in farmlands across affected regions. Operations covered parts of the South-East, South-South, and North-Central, including Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, and Delta states.
Despite successfully retrieving the ordnance, he said they were not destroyed due to a lack of follow-through by successive governments, even after repeated appeals.
He recalled that in 2022, one of the recovered mortar bombs detonated, resulting in civilian casualties, underscoring the urgency of the situation.
The expert further disclosed that a total of 17,632 remnants of improvised weapons such as “Ogbunigwe” devices and “Ojukwu buckets” have been cleared, alongside 682 anti-personnel landmines and 143 anti-vehicle mines.
According to him, although many of the landmines have deteriorated over time, they remain dangerous and must be eliminated in line with international conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory.
Yakubu added that a small number of marked locations less than 15 per cent of affected areas in Imo State still require clearance, pending government support. He also mentioned the need to remove damaged armoured vehicles and abandoned tanks from the conflict era, which are reportedly intended for transfer to a military museum.
He stressed that completing these steps is critical to fully securing the affected communities and preventing further harm.