*Photo: CGC Adewale Adeniyi *
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) have strengthened collaboration against illicit arms trafficking with the formal handover of 399 Jojeff pump-action rifles and 535 assorted firearm components intercepted at Tincan Island Port, Lagos.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, handed over the items on Monday, 17 August 2026, describing the seizure as significant given the nation’s security challenges. He said the interception, coming ahead of the electioneering season, had prevented several hundred firearms from getting into the wrong hands, while highlighting the role of technology in the operation and commending the Federal Government for investing in the modernisation of the Service.
“We will not allow the ports and the borders of this country to be used to bring in arms or anything else that threatens the safety of Nigerians. Our officers will stay vigilant, we will sharpen our intelligence, we will strengthen our risk systems, and we will work shoulder to shoulder with our sister agencies to find the people who attempt this and stop them,” he said.
CGC Adeniyi disclosed that the Federal High Court in Lagos had remanded two suspects arrested in connection with the seizure, with arraignment scheduled for 25 August. He warned that any Customs officer who facilitates the illegal importation of arms would face consequences, stating, “What stands on record today is that these rifles will never be fired in this country. Two men are before the court regarding the importation of these rifles. Any officer who lends himself to this trade or who uses his position to ease the passage of goods like this will not and never find shelter or protection within the Nigeria Customs Service.”
Receiving the items, the Director-General of NCCSALW, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Johnson Babatunde (Rtd.), commended CGC Adeniyi for his leadership, professionalism and the Service’s continued collaboration in combating the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons.
“These weapons will be handled in strict compliance with national legislation and international best practices, including Nigeria’s obligations under international and regional frameworks,” Babatunde said.
He pledged that the NCCSALW would immediately catalogue, profile, and document all items received, adding that serviceable weapons required for authorised state security use would be properly accounted for, while obsolete, illegal, and unserviceable weapons would be destroyed.