The authorities of the Nigeria Customs Service have transferred a total of 1,599 assorted firearms and 2,298 live cartridges to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW).
Speaking at the handover ceremony in Lagos, Comptroller General of Customs Adewale Adeniyi stated that some importers of the illicit weapons had been convicted, while other cases remain in court.
Adeniyi revealed that 11 suspects linked to the arms trafficking network were also handed over for further investigation and potential prosecution.
He emphasised that the Nigeria Customs Service has strengthened its core mandate of securing the nation’s borders through targeted anti-smuggling operations and intelligence-led interventions.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, praised the collaboration between Customs and other security agencies. Represented by NCCSALW Director General Johnson Kokumo, the NSA reaffirmed the government’s commitment to curbing the proliferation of illegal arms.
This is not the first time the NCS has intercepted illicit arms. In May 2018, the agency seized 440 pump-action rifles hidden in 516 bags of Plaster of Paris (POP) cement at Tin Can Island Port. Further investigations uncovered two additional containers concealing weapons among sanitary wares.