…Customs Reveals How Risk System Flagged Tin Can Container.
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The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has handed over 399 fully assembled Jojef pump-action rifles intercepted at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, NCCSALW, as investigations into the alleged illegal arms importation continue.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed the development in Lagos on Monday during the formal handover of the weapons to the National Coordinator of the NCCSALW, DIG Johnson Kokumo, retired.
Adeniyi identified Robert Eze and Ejiogu Godson as the two suspects arrested in connection with the shipment, saying both men are currently in custody and are expected to be arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos on August 25, 2026.
TheNigeriaLawyer had earlier reported that Justice Friday Ogazi of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos ordered the remand of Godson and Eze for 15 days to enable Customs conclude its investigation into the alleged importation of firearms and ammunition.
The earlier proceedings arose from an ex parte application marked FHC/LAG/CR/601/2026, filed by the Legal Services Department of the Nigeria Customs Service.
At the time of the remand proceedings, the court processes did not disclose the exact quantity of firearms recovered from the container.
Customs has now confirmed that detailed examination and assembly of the components recovered from the shipment produced 399 fully assembled Jojef rifles.
Adeniyi said the container arrived at Tin Can Island Port aboard the vessel MV VELIKA on July 8, 2026, and was flagged by the Service’s intelligence-driven risk management system.
According to him, physical examination of the container revealed firearm components that had been deliberately dismantled and concealed in knocked-down form.
“Look carefully at what is laid out on these tables. 399 rifles. Somebody paid for them. Somebody arranged their shipment. Somebody was waiting at this end to collect them. And somebody, somewhere in this country, was going to be on the wrong end of them,” Adeniyi said.
He said the weapons were being handed over to the national agency responsible for controlling illicit small arms and light weapons.
Explaining how the seizure was made, the Customs chief said the container was not selected randomly but was identified through the Service’s risk management architecture.
“On the 8th of July, a container arrived at Tin Can Island Port aboard the vessel MV VELIKA. It was not opened because somebody had a suspicion, or because an officer happened to be passing. It was opened because our risk management system flagged it,” he said.
“Inside were firearm components, taken apart and hidden in knocked-down form. That is a deliberate method. It is chosen for one reason only, which is that a rifle in pieces does not look like a rifle.”
Adeniyi warned that the potential entry of hundreds of illicit firearms into the country posed a serious threat, particularly against the backdrop of terrorism, kidnapping, banditry and other violent crimes.
He also drew attention to the approaching electioneering period, warning of the danger posed by large quantities of firearms falling into unauthorised hands.
“We are also approaching another electioneering season, and I do not need to describe to this audience what several hundred firearms in the wrong hands would mean for the peace of our communities or for the conduct of our democracy,” he said.
“I will say only this: that consignment did not reach its destination, and the officers of this Service are the reason.”
The Customs boss attributed the interception partly to investments made under the Trade Modernisation Project and the introduction of the B’Odogwu platform.
He said the technology integrates clearance processes, automated risk management, cargo tracking and non-intrusive inspection, allowing Customs to identify high-risk consignments without physically opening every container entering the country.
“The purpose of that investment was never revenue alone. We cannot open every container that enters this country, and no Customs administration anywhere in the world can. What technology gives us is the ability to know which container to open,” Adeniyi said.
He stressed, however, that the seizure itself was only one stage of the enforcement process, noting that investigations had subsequently led to the arrest of suspects.
Adeniyi disclosed that one of the suspects was arrested on July 31 at a bonded terminal while allegedly attempting to facilitate the release of the container.
“Both have been remanded by the Federal High Court in Lagos, and arraignment is set for the 25th of August,” he said.
“And today the weapons themselves pass into the custody of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, under the Office of the National Security Adviser.”
Adeniyi said the sequence demonstrated what he described as a functioning enforcement chain comprising interception, investigation, arrest, court proceedings and the transfer of seized weapons to the appropriate national authority.
“The weapons were intercepted. The importers were arrested. They stand before a court of law. And the arms are being surrendered to the national authority responsible for them. That is not an incident. That is a chain, and every link in it held,” he said.
He vowed that the Nigeria Customs Service would continue strengthening its intelligence and risk-management systems to prevent the country’s ports, borders and airports from being used for illicit arms trafficking.
Adeniyi also commended officers of the Tin Can Island Port Command for detecting the concealed shipment despite what he described as deliberate efforts to disguise its contents.
“Whoever packed this consignment took great care to hide it. It was found anyway, because our systems worked and because our officers did their duty,” he said.
Receiving the firearms, NCCSALW National Coordinator Johnson Kokumo said the Centre had retrieved more than 21,000 small arms and light weapons since its establishment.
He added that more than 19,000 weapons had so far been destroyed.
Kokumo described the removal of illicit weapons from non-state actors as a significant step towards weakening criminal networks and protecting citizens.
“It is with a deep sense of patriotism that we gather here today, not merely to witness the handing over of seized illicit weapons, but to mark a decisive step in strengthening our collective security and safeguarding the peace we all cherish,” he said.
He commended the Customs Comptroller-General and personnel of the Service for their role in recovering illicit weapons and cooperating with the Centre in efforts to combat arms proliferation.
“Illicit weapons taken out of the hands of non-state actors is a direct blow to criminal networks and a vital step toward safeguarding innocent citizens,” Kokumo said.
He assured that the 399 rifles handed over by Customs would be properly catalogued, profiled and documented in accordance with relevant national laws and international obligations.
Kokumo said the Centre would ensure accountability for every weapon received and prevent the arms from returning to criminal circulation.
According to him, serviceable weapons legitimately required for authorised state security purposes would be properly accounted for, while illegal, obsolete and unserviceable firearms would be destroyed in accordance with established procedures.
He said the process would comply with Nigeria’s obligations under international and regional frameworks governing the control and eradication of illicit small arms and light weapons, including relevant United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS instruments.
Godson and Eze have not been convicted of any offence. The allegations relating to the shipment remain subject to prosecution and determination by the Federal High Court.
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