The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intensified its crackdown on the illegal movement of firearms, uncovering 399 fully assembled Jojef rifles and several additional firearm components during the detailed examination of a seized shipment at the Tin Can Island Port Command.
The latest discovery was made on Sunday, August 9, 2026, following the completion of the coupling and inventory of the arms concealed in a container intercepted by Customs.
The seizure was earlier disclosed by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, on Thursday, August 6, when he revealed that the Service had intercepted a container containing crates of knocked-down components preliminarily identified as Jojef pump-action rifles.
Further examination of the shipment resulted in the recovery of 89 frames, 16 heat shields, 10 trigger pins, three pistons, 25 locking lugs, 80 charging handles, 39 pistol-grip screws, 34 springs, 57 trigger groups, 66 foregrip latches, 45 foregrips or handguards, four pistol grips and five barrels.
The development underscores the NCS’s growing enforcement efforts to prevent the use of Nigeria’s ports and borders as channels for the illegal importation of firearms and other prohibited items.
Adeniyi had warned that criminal networks could attempt to exploit the country’s borders, seaports and airports to smuggle weapons into Nigeria ahead of the next general elections.
He said, “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. We are going to redouble our efforts to ensure that we do not allow them to do so.”
The Customs boss also reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to intelligence-led enforcement, enhanced border surveillance and closer collaboration with sister security agencies to combat arms trafficking and other forms of transnational crime.
He specifically cited collaboration with the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) as part of efforts to identify and dismantle networks involved in the trafficking of illicit weapons.
Following the completion of the examination and inventory of the shipment, the NCS said arrangements were being made to hand over the seized firearms and components to the NCCSALW.
The handover, according to the Service, will support efforts to ensure that the recovered weapons are taken out of circulation while investigations continue to identify, track and prosecute those behind the attempted importation of the arms.
