The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has uncovered the names of the importers who recently shipped 399 fully assembled JOJEF pump-action rifles and other component parts through the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos.

This is even as the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), revealed that so far, 21,000 small arms and weapons have been collected from Customs since the inception of the Centre.

Disclosing this in Lagos on Monday during the handing over of the arms to the NCCSALW, Mr Johnson Kokumo, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr Bashir Adeniyi, said said two importers, identified as Robert Eze and Ejiogu Godson, had been arrested in connection with the consignment.

He said one of them was apprehended on July 31 at a bonded terminal while allegedly attempting to facilitate the release of the container.

According to him, both suspects had been remanded by the Federal High Court in Lagos, with their arraignment scheduled for August 25.

He explained that the weapons were intercepted after a container that arrived at the port on July 8 aboard the vessel MV VELIKA was flagged by the Customs risk management system for inspection.

According to the Customs boss, the firearms had been dismantled and concealed in knocked-down form, a method deliberately adopted to disguise the weapons and evade detection.

Adeniyi stressed that the quantity of firearms recovered could have worsened the country’s security challenges, particularly terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes.

He noted that illicit firearms were largely manufactured outside Nigeria and smuggled into the country through ports, land borders and airports, making effective border control critical to national security.

Adeniyi also warned of the potential consequences of hundreds of firearms falling into the wrong hands as the country approaches another election season, noting that the successful interception had prevented the consignment from reaching its intended destination.

The Comptroller-General, however, attributed the seizure to investments in technology under the Trade Modernisation Project, particularly the B’Odogwu platform, which integrates cargo clearance, automated risk management, cargo tracking and non-intrusive inspection.

He said the objective of the technology was not limited to revenue generation but also to enable Customs officers to identify high-risk consignments for inspection, noting that it was impossible for any Customs administration to physically examine every container entering a country.

According to him, the transfer of the seized firearms to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, under the Office of the National Security Adviser, completed the process of interception, arrest, prosecution and lawful custody of the weapons.

Receiving the firearms, Kokumo, said the Centre had recovered more than 21,000 small arms and light weapons since its establishment, with over 19,000 of the weapons subsequently destroyed.

According to Kokumo, the recovery and destruction of illicit weapons represented a significant step towards disrupting criminal networks, strengthening national security and protecting citizens from the threat posed by arms proliferation.

The coordinator noted that removing illicit weapons from non-state actors weakens criminal networks and contributes significantly to the protection of innocent citizens.

Kokumo assured that the weapons handed over to the Centre would be properly secured, documented and managed in line with national laws and international best practices to prevent them from returning to criminal elements.

He further noted that the NCCSALW would immediately catalogue, profile and document all the weapons received, in accordance with Nigeria’s obligations under relevant United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS frameworks on the control and eradication of illicit small arms and light weapons.

He further explained that weapons found to be serviceable and required for authorised security operations would be properly accounted for, while obsolete, illegal and unserviceable arms would be destroyed.