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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has arrested an importer and a female clearing agent over the alleged illegal importation of 399 Jojef pump-action rifles through the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Monday during the formal handover of the seized firearms to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW).
The latest arrest and recovery bring the total to about 11 suspects arrested so far and 21,399 firearms handed over to the NCCSALW.
It will be recalled that the Nigeria Customs Service, in July 2026, handed over about 55 pieces of Jojef Magnum Tomahawk Shot Gun and 844 assorted prohibited firearms, and 112,500 cartridges to the NCCSALW.
The illicit arms were intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and Onne Port, Rivers State, on 19 and 21 June 2024, respectively.
Eleven suspects were also handed over to the NCCSALW for prosecution. They include Ali Samson Ofoma, Okechukwu Gabriel Charles, Ejiofor Jude Ogbu and eight others. All the suspects are currently in detention at the Nigeria Correctional Service facility while undergoing prosecution at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Addressing newsmen during a brief handover ceremony for the seized 399 rifles held at the Tin Can Port, Adeniyi said the container conveying the weapons arrived at the port on July 8 aboard the vessel MV Velika and was flagged for inspection by the Customs risk management system.
He said the firearms had been dismantled and concealed in knocked-down form in an apparent attempt to evade detection.
According to him, examination and reassembly of the consignment resulted in the recovery of 399 fully assembled Jojef pump-action rifles and 535 assorted firearm components.
“The components included 89 frames, 80 charging handles, 57 trigger groups and 25 locking lugs,” he said.
The Customs CG said one of the suspects was arrested on July 31 at a bonded terminal while allegedly attempting to procure the release of the container.
He said both suspects had been remanded by the Federal High Court in Lagos, with their arraignment scheduled for August 25.
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Adeniyi said the seizure was made possible through the Service’s risk management system, stressing that the development demonstrated the importance of technology in identifying high-risk consignments at the ports.
“That container was found because of a system, and that system exists because this administration chose to invest in it. Under the Trade Modernisation Project we have replaced manual processes with B’Odogwu, which brings clearance, automated risk management, cargo tracking and non-intrusive inspection onto a single platform.
“The purpose of that investment was never revenue alone. We cannot open every container that enters this country, and no customs administration anywhere in the world can. What technology gives us is the ability to know which container to open. What you are looking at this morning is that capability doing precisely what it was built to do,” he said.
He said the NCS could not physically examine every container entering the country, adding that automated risk profiling enabled officers to determine which consignments required further inspection.
The Customs chief warned that the Service would not allow Nigeria’s ports and borders to be used for the illegal importation of firearms or other items capable of threatening national security.
He also warned Customs personnel against aiding the movement of illicit arms, saying any officer found facilitating such activities would not receive protection from the Service.
Receiving the firearms, the NCCSALW Director-General, Kokomo Johnson, said illicit small arms and light weapons remained a major catalyst for terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, insurgency and other violent crimes.
Kokomo Johnson, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), disclosed that more than 21,000 small arms and light weapons had been retrieved since the establishment of the Centre, while over 19,000 had been destroyed.
According to him, the newly received weapons would be immediately catalogued, profiled and documented to ensure proper accountability and prevent them from returning to criminal hands.
“Serviceable weapons required for authorised state security use would be accounted for, while obsolete, illegal and unserviceable firearms would be destroyed in accordance with national legislation and international best practices,” he added.
The NCCSALW FG also called for stronger cooperation among security and law enforcement agencies, urging stakeholders to share actionable intelligence in real time and promote civil disarmament and voluntary surrender of illicit weapons.
The Customs Service said the investigation into the consignment would continue, while the court proceedings against the suspects are expected to shed more light on the origin, intended destination and other persons who may have been involved in the alleged illegal importation.
