Customs Seized 3,897 Arms, Ammunition In 2 Years, says CGC
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has seized 1,599 assorted rifles and 2,298 cartridges smuggled through the country’s ports in Lagos and Rivers states in 2018 and 2024.
The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, made this known on Thursday in Lagos while handing over the arms and ammunition to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.
He said that several suspects arrested in connection with the weapons are being prosecuted in various courts.
Adeniyi recalled that in May 2018, customs officials at the Tin Can Island Port intercepted 440 pump-action rifles concealed in a 20-foot container filled with plaster of Paris cement.
“Sustained intelligence operations later led to the discovery of two additional containers at the same port, concealing firearms within sanitary wares,” he said.
The source of the shipments was traced to a purchasing company in Turkey.
The Director-General of the centre, retired DIG Johnson Babatunde Kokumo, commended the Customs Service for its pivotal role in curbing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country.
He recalled a significant arms burst in July 2024, when customs officers intercepted 844 rifles and 112,500 rounds of live ammunition at the Onne Port in Port Harcourt.
He said while the recovered weapons were promptly handed over, the key suspects, including the masterminds, were apprehended.
