The dual-purpose use of tasers without regulation across Nigeria raises concerns.
Sometime in February 2025, a criminal gang held Mary Aderemi after she boarded a taxi in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital.
“Call your boss, call anyone you know to give us money or we will sell or kill you now,” Mary recounted a member of the gang yelling.
The incident occurred around 1 pm. Ms Aderemi had entered an ash-coloured Volkswagen taxi around the Churchgate area of the city. She needed to get to her lecture centre early to continue preparing for her accounting certification exam.
The car stopped at different intervals to pick up three other passengers. Unknown to her, these passengers were accomplices of the driver who would later make her go through hell.
“The glasses were wound up as the last person entered; that was when I knew it was a tinted vehicle and sensed something was amiss,” she recalled. “Next minute, one brought out a knife, while another put forward a taser. The third man also had a gun with him.”
Ms Aderemi said the man next to her started hitting her, while another brought out a taser and used it on her. She became paralysed.
“Immediately the taser was applied to me, my hands were paralysed! I couldn’t move it for some time. They went ahead to tie and blindfold me, carrying me around Abuja. They said they would take me to the dreadful Kaduna road if I didn’t cooperate with them,” she told DUBAWA.
They seized her phone, withdrew over N100,000 from her bank account, and used one of her details to borrow money from a loan app. Despite submitting a court affidavit and police report, the loan app still pesters her for repayment.
Across many parts of Nigeria, there lies a growing public security risk as the absence of laws regulating taser sale and use has created a loophole exploited by criminals, who now have easier access to these potentially lethal devices.
A taser is a device that can be used as a weapon to incapacitate people with about 50,000 volts of electric shock. It is often used by trained security personnel to subdue people they deem to be behaving aggressively.
It is also used as a means of self-defence by citizens in many countries. Its dual-purpose use, for good or evil, makes its regulation essential.
DUBAWA’s investigation revealed that tasers are now readily available to Nigerians, who can acquire and carry them with ease. Despite the relative ease of purchase, there is currently no regulation on their use.
Left unchecked
A review of the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons Act (2021), the country’s legislation aimed at controlling the proliferation and illicit trade of weapons, shows that the law is silent on the use of tasers.
Similarly, the Nigerian Criminal Code did not specifically mention tasers but identified what it called “offensive weapons.”
According to the law, offensive weapons include “any article, apart from a firearm, made or adapted for use for causing injury.” Listed as examples are items such as an air gun, air pistol, bow and arrow, spear, cutlass, matchet, dagger, cudgel, or any piece of wood, metal, glass, or stone capable of being used as an offensive weapon.
The laws prescribe the crime of felony and three years’ imprisonment for anyone found guilty of using offensive weapons.
DUBAWA presented our findings to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons and asked if they were aware of the common availability of tasers, but has yet to hear from the agency.
However, responding to a December 2022 post by an X user on whether tasers are allowed for use by individuals, Muyiwa Adejobi, the then spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, said: “For now, the law of Nigeria doesn’t permit individuals to own these items. It is a matter of law, not an opinion, please.”
DUBAWA attempted to clarify which law the police officer was referring to, but calls and text messages to Mr Adejobi and Josephine Adeh, the police spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory, for further comments on the issue went unanswered.
George Anasam, an Abuja-based lawyer, explained that Nigerian law is silent on the general position of tasers in Nigeria and as such it may be sold but should not be used to commit a crime.
“There is no law that prohibits you from possessing tasers in Nigeria as it doesn’t fall under items that are categorically mentioned in the country’s laws of firearms as a weapon,” Mr Anasam said. “Tasers can be sold to Nigerians. But what would matter afterwards is the use and application of it by Nigerians. That is what would constitute an offence or otherwise.”
Defensive tool for some
Some Nigerians purchase tasers to defend themselves against unwanted attacks.
One such person, @Sdq_Solution, narrated on X how a motor park worker almost removed the side mirror of his car after he refused to give him money.
The X user said the incident occurred while he was driving around the overhead bridge in the Abule Egba area of Lagos State. The unidentified park worker moved to harm him, but he pulled out a taser and used it to defend himself.
“I tase him like 3 times [because] I was really angry, na the LASTMA wey dey there beg me to go cos I don cause traffic, the werey no fit move him body for ground,” he wrote in Pidgin English.
Like the X user, Oloye Oloyede, a resident of the Mararaba area of Nasarawa State, told DUBAWA that he bought a taser in anticipation of using it for self-defence.
He explained that he decided to buy the taser in 2023, bearing in mind that private car owners in the country are prone to attacks and the lack of any defensive tool around victims often worsen its severity.
“I have a taser, but I have not used it before. The attackers always try to catch their victims unaware. Tasers help for self-defence because one can use it against street urchins or touts, but I’ve not used it against anyone,” he said.
DUBAWA also spoke with five other Nigerians who disclosed buying tasers for the purpose of using them for self-defence, although many said incidents of usage are rare.
In some countries such as the United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK), tasers are considered a defensive tool for many people to protect themselves against unwarranted attacks, mostly in situations such as sexual assault and nighttime robbery. However, this comes with heavy regulation.
For example, in the above-named countries, it is illegal to carry tasers around in some places due to strict firearms regulations. In the UK, if a taser is discovered disguised as another object — such as a flashlight or cell phone- the carrier may be sentenced to five years in prison if found guilty. If one owns the original design, it’s 10 years and an unlimited fine. Some places like Minnesota and Massachusetts in the US even require a license before it could be sold.
These legal pronouncements are aimed at curtailing tasers getting into the hands of people who would use them for ulterior motives.
Although the sale of a taser is not illegal in Nigeria, as the West African nation also grants residents a right to self-defence in the case of danger, as seen in Section 33(2) of the 1999 Constitution, the lack of regulation and its open sale have made it a weapon of choice for committing crime and inflicting injuries.
Another incident
Segun Falade, a journalist with one of the national dailies in Nigeria, was also attacked with a taser in the buildup to the 12 July local government elections in Lagos State. He was stopped by private security personnel while trying to gain entrance into the stakeholders’ meeting of the All Progressives Congress in Ogba, Lagos State, despite his press invitation.
“It was the same party that invited me, yet their security would not allow me or other people to enter the crowded venue,” he said.
Mr Falade recalled that he was trying to show someone his press identification card when he heard the “loud and sparkling” sounds of the shocking device.
“Before I knew it, the bouncers at the gate were already using the taser on everybody, and they did use it on me, too. The experience was quite traumatic for me, and I can’t imagine why I have to face such a kind of danger in the course of my work,” he added.
He immediately fled the venue, but he could not do any work again that day in the office because the ‘unfortunate incident had unsettled’ him.
“I don’t think tasers should be used indiscriminately on anyone who does not pose a threat. A security official can hold it to control mayhem, but it should be used as a last resort. It’s like a gun, it’s dangerous,” the journalist said.
Mr Anasam said the use of tasers for self-defence needs to be regulated to curtail unlawful threat and intimidation.
“It is important for Nigeria to make legal decisions on the use of tasers. As much as they’re lawful when it is not abused, the regulations will help to eschew the room for misuse. We live in a society where there is domestic and rising violence, which is capable of causing serious injury when used improperly,” the lawyer said.
The offline and online sellers
Findings by DUBAWA and multiple interviews confirmed that the major hotspots for purchasing tasers in Nigeria include, but are not limited to, Bodija market in Ibadan, Oyo State; Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos; and the Wuse, Banex, and Galadima areas in Abuja.
We analysed a network of social media accounts (notably Facebook, Instagram, and X) and offline vendors advertising and selling to Nigerians. One such page, @AliceandBelleSafetyGadgets, advertises the sale of tasers. Created in June 2022 with over 3,000 followers, it is owned by Alishia, a Nigerian-American early-childhood educator.
For marketing purposes, the business engages celebrities such as Nollywood filmmaker Muyiwa Ademola and Ayo Adeagbo, a special assistant to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
In April, DUBAWA contacted Alishia to purchase a taser after a trip to Ibadan, where she is based. After showing us online many discreet types — pen, phone, lipstick, and key fob — available, we opted for physical pickup of the item, but she preferred a delivery through ride-hailing drivers, as “the shop is currently under renovation.”
Through a WhatsApp transaction, we opted for a phone taser at a fixed price of N20,500. Days later, a logistics man brought the taser, wrapped in a customised case, to our reporter.
Still in Ibadan, another seller, Adebiyi Ijoba, offered to sell a taser for N20,000. When asked for his shop address, he said he doesn’t offer a physical shop for pickup.
“It’s online [business]. Call me, and I will meet you anywhere. If the taser is used on anyone, their body system will die for some time,” he said, adding that he usually ships the devices in bulk from abroad.
We interacted with most of these sellers, who spoke of immediate doorstep delivery once an order was placed. Some of these sellers sponsor ads on social media platforms to drive potential buyers to purchase.
There is no indication that any of these sellers has broken any law by selling tasers, since the item is currently not being regulated. However, none of those contacted showed any concern for what the taser was to be used for.
Common and cheap
In Abuja, the popular Banex Plaza is the home of sellers of tasers, who sell them to the city’s commuters, especially during traffic congestion. Its sellers — mostly teenage boys — would line up in one of the buildings around the market, beckoning to potential buyers.
In July, we approached Bil-Yaminu Saadu, one of the sellers, who placed a price tag of N20,000 but later sold at N12,000 after a round of haggling.
“Come anytime, I dey here. I have dem plenty. Buy a jackknife too or pepper spray, I’ll reduce your money,” he said.
Before this purchase, we had interacted with at least five other sellers along the axis but none of them asked who our reporter was or what the weapon would be used for.
Malik Samuel, a senior researcher at Good Governance Africa, a pan-African think tank, told DUBAWA the absence of age restrictions at the points of sale further compounds the risk.
“Their sale should be licensed, age-restricted, and properly tracked, with strict penalties for misuse. For law enforcement and licensed private security, taser deployment should be tied to rigorous training, mandatory reporting, and medical safeguards to prevent abuse and protect the public,” he said.
Mr Samuel said that the widespread availability of tasers through markets, online platforms, and even roadside traffic sales lowers the threshold for their use in political intimidation, street violence, and unlawful crowd control by non-state actors.
“In tense electoral environments, the mere brandishing of a taser can quickly cause panic and escalate confrontations. Yet the danger extends well into daily life,” the security analyst noted.
Speaking on the health risks linked to tasers, Ahmed AbdulBasit, a doctor at the Federal Medical Centre, Lagos, explained that tasers work by targeting the muscles and nerves of the body of victims it is used on to incapacitate them.
Describing it as ‘offensive and dangerous’, the doctor revealed that victims of taser attacks could suffer emotional and psychological distress and get head injuries that might lead to death when they hit their heads on a hard surface. “Individuals exposed to taser use will have post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, or fear, and may be fatal when tased close to the head,” he said.
Moshood Ibrahim, a lawyer based in Kwara State, said that pursuant to Section 36(12) of the Constitution, anyone cannot be prosecuted for the possession of a taser since such is not expressly described as a crime under the law.
“Since a taser is not explicitly mentioned under these laws, it cannot be said to be illegal and one cannot be held for its possession under our criminal justice system until the law specifically prohibits the sale, possession and/or use of it.
“However, if a person who possesses goes on to use it to commit a crime, that person may be prosecuted for criminal assault and this is where the issue of regulation is needed.
“The law needs to define how it should be purchased, who should sell it or the penalty for using it in a justifiable way. We cannot safeguard the peace and order of this great nation while overlooking issues like this,” Mr Ibrahim said.
Editor’s Note: *Names have been redacted to protect the source’s identity.
Source: PremiumTimes
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