Our Correspondent
Ikeja, Feb. 15, ’25 (TNZ) The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has handed over confiscated 1,599 assorted arms and 2,298 live cartridges to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCOSALW).
TheNewsZenith reports that the Comptroller General of NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, handed over the items at its Federal Operation Unit Zone “A” in Lagos.
While handing over the weapons, Adeniyi said NCS seized them in 2018, in three containers at the Tincan Island Port.
He said the hand-over ceremony demonstrated the NCS’s commitment to protecting national borders and maintaining public safety.
The CG added that the NCS would spare no resource in hunting down, exposing and prosecuting anyone attempting to compromise the nation’s national security through arms trafficking.
He explained that returning the weapons to the NCCSALW symbolised NCS’s commitment to the proper disposal of seized arms. It also highlights its resolve to rid the nation of illegal weapons.
Adeniyi commended the professionalism and courage of the NCS officers involved in the seizures.
He equally gave the Forensics Unit, a pat on the back for their role in securing convictions.
“Today’s handover encompasses 1,599 assorted arms and 2,298 live cartridges recovered from these operations, between 2018 till date, totalling 3,897.
“In May 2018, the Service intercepted a significant cache of arms consisting of 440 pump action rifles and accessories.
“The perpetrators ingeniously concealed the weapons in 516 bags of Plaster of Paris (POP) cement in a 1x20ft container with number PONU210024/1.
“This seizure coincided with heightened security challenges from armed bandits in the North-West and illegal arms proliferation in the South-East.
“It reveals the linkage between transnational smuggling networks and our domestic security challenges.
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“Through sustained intelligence operations, we intercepted two additional containers – CMAU 189817/8 and GESU 255208/1 at Tin-Can Island Port.
“These were similarly concealed arms and ammunition among sanitary wares,” TheNewsZenith quotes Adeniyi as saying.
Following the seizure, NCS deployed forensic capabilities to conduct a detailed electronic analysis of customs documentation and shipping records.
“Through established diplomatic channels, we partnered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to engage the Turkish Embassy. This led to the definitive identification of the purchasing company.
“With financial records obtained through court orders, our investigation trail established the identities of those behind the illegal shipment.
“Through strategic inter-agency cooperation, particularly with the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, we successfully prosecuted the case in Lagos.
“The defendants: Great James Oil and Gas Limited, Ifeuwa Moses Christ and Emeka Umeh Festus A.K.A (Amankwa) were convicted on eight count charges.
“This prosecution success reinforces the Service’s zero-tolerance stance against arms trafficking and validates the effectiveness of our judicial collaboration,” CG added.
TheNewsZenith reports that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu received the items.
Ribadu said that the Centre would take all necessary measures, in line with relevant conventions and best practices, to permanently remove these weapons from circulation.
Represented by the NCCSALW’s Director-General, Mr Babatunde Kokumo, NSA assured that the weapons would be treated under international conventions. Nigeria, he noted, is a signatory to the ECOWAS convention.
The NSA noted that since its establishment in May 2021, the centre had spearheaded multi-stakeholder initiatives to curb the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons. (TNZ)
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