The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted 399 fully assembled Jojef firearms and assorted rifle components at the Tin Can Island Port Command in Lagos.
The seizure followed a detailed examination of a consignment in which the weapons and components were allegedly concealed, the NCS said on Sunday.
In a statement issued in Abuja by its National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, the service said the seizure was confirmed after officers completed the coupling and examination of the shipment.
The consignment had initially been discovered as crates containing knocked-down firearm components concealed inside a container.
According to Maiwada, NCS Comptroller-General, Bashir Adeniyi, had earlier disclosed the interception of the container and said the components were preliminarily identified as parts of Jojef pump-action rifles.
Further examination revealed a range of additional firearm components, including 89 frames, 16 heat shields, 10 trigger pins, three pistons, 25 locking lugs and 80 charging handles.
The recovered items also included 39 pistol-grip screws, 34 springs, 57 trigger groups, 66 foregrip latches, 45 foregrips or handguards, four pistol grips and five barrels.
Adeniyi warned that criminal networks could attempt to exploit Nigeria’s ports, airports and land borders to move prohibited items into the country, particularly as the nation approaches another general election cycle.
“We are about entering a major election cycle and we know that by this period, men of the underworld will want to use our borders, our ports, our airports to bring in items like this,” he said.
He said the Customs Service would strengthen surveillance and enforcement operations at the country’s entry points to prevent the trafficking of illicit firearms and other prohibited goods.
The Comptroller-General reaffirmed the NCS’s commitment to intelligence-led enforcement, enhanced border surveillance and closer cooperation with other security agencies to disrupt arms-trafficking networks.
He specifically highlighted collaboration with the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), under the Office of the National Security Adviser, as part of efforts to protect national security.
Adeniyi said the seized firearms would be handed over to the NCCSALW after the completion of the necessary inventory and assessment.
He added that the seizure demonstrated the resolve of Nigeria’s security agencies to prevent dangerous weapons from entering circulation and to identify and prosecute those responsible for the trafficking network.
