National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons Pushes for Scanner Legislation to Reduce Gun Violence

The Executive Secretary of the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Dr Adam Bonaa, has pushed for Parliament to pass the small arms bill, aiming to close loopholes that facilitate the importation of small arms into the country.

This follows recent killings in the Northern region involving military personnel and civilians. According to him, passing the small arms bill will reduce indiscriminate killings by unscrupulous individuals.

In an interview with GBC, on Tuesday, March 18, Dr. Bonaa emphasized the need to consolidate fragmented laws for the well-regulated use of small arms.

He noted that there is a pending bill that is yet to be passed, and when passed, the commission will have the authority to use scanners to scan weapons in some areas.

“We have a pending bill that is yet to be passed into law to give us some level of balls and some level of authority to be able to go into areas with our scanners to be able to scan.”

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Dr. Adam Bonaa revealed that these weapon scanners are designed to detect hidden weapons, which is a good step to reduce indiscriminate killings.

“And these weapon detection systems only detect weapons. Even if you bury it underground, it will detect it and bring it out. If you hide it in a container, it will detect it, and then we will fish it out.”

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He assured that measures are in place to fish out individuals who possess such weapons and noted that even though the current detectors available are insufficient, there have been assurances from the President to support the procurement of additional ones.

“We have a promise from His Excellency John Gawamani Mahama and the Minister, and in fact the Finance Minister, to support us in procuring additional weapon detection systems and also retooling us.

“And one other thing we are hoping will be done before June, which our Minister, again, has promised to ensure it is done. In fact, he mentioned it, and if you remember, the President’s first owner, since he was sworn in, mentioned issues about strengthening gun regulations and, you know, the legal framework being, you know, strengthened.