Section 38: Tracing.

(1) The National Centre shall exchange with other ECOWAS, AU and UN State Parties, information on -
(a) illegal small arms and light weapons;
(b) seized small arms and light weapons; and
(c) trafficking in weapons that contravene international law or the internal laws of the States in which the operations take place, including condemnation of the person or institution implicated, sanctions, disposal, destruction methods and neutralisation,
(2) The National Centre shall, in the case of other small arms and light weapons, exchange the following data on a regular basis with the bodies mentioned in subsection (1) -
(a) manufacture, marking system and techniques used, and authorized manufacturers;
(b) transfers, exports to and imports from all other states, and transits;
(c) information available concerning national legislation, existing practices and controls, authorised dealers and brokers, and
(d) existing stockpiles, management, inventory, security, surplus, loss, theft and destruction.
(3) The National Centre may initiate a tracing request through ECOWAS, AU or UN in relation to small arms and light weapons found within Nigeria that it considers to be illegal.
(4) A request by the National Centre for assistance in tracing illegal small arms or light weapons shall contain sufficient information, including -
(a) information describing the illegal nature of the small arms and light weapons, its legal justification and circumstances under which the small arms and light weapons were found:
(b) marking, type, caliber and other relevant information; and
(c) intended use of the information being sought.
(5) Where the National Centre receives through the ECOWAS, AU or UN request for assistance in tracing illegal small arms and light weapons found in the requesting member state, the National Centre shall acknowledge its receipt within a reasonable time frame.
(6) A request from a member state received under subsection (5) shall contain the information set out m subsection (4) and any other information as may be specified by the National Centre,
(7) The National Centre shall provide reliable responses to tracing requests made by other member states within one month from the date of receipt of the request.
(8) In responding to a tracing request, the National Centre shall provide all available information sought by the requesting member state that is relevant for the purposes of tracing illegal small arms and light weapons.
(9) The National Centre may seek additional information from the requesting member state where a tracing request does not contain the information required under this section.