Nigeria Customs Service uncovers a massive cache of illicit armaments at the Tin Can Island Port Command in Lagos, intercepting 399 fully assembled Jojef firearms alongside 535 supplementary rifle components.The National Public Relations Officer of the service, Chief Superintendent of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada, confirmed the seizure on Sunday, August 9, 2026, following the completion of detailed inventory and coupling processes on the intercepted container.
How did Customs officers uncover the arms shipment at Tin Can Port?
The discovery follows an earlier disclosure by Comptroller-General of Customs Adewale Adeniyi regarding a suspicious container carrying concealed crates of knocked-down components.Upon completing a comprehensive inspection and assembly operation, Customs officers identified 399 fully operational Jojef rifles along with a large assortment of vital weapon components.The recovered parts included 89 frames, 16 heat shields, 80 charging handles, 57 trigger groups, 45 handguards, and several barrels designed to be coupled into functional automatic weapons.Security operatives noted that the illicit cargo was disguised in disassembled form to bypass routine screening before being flagged through intelligence-led enforcement.
Comptroller-General Adeniyi warned that criminal syndicates frequently attempt to exploit maritime terminals, airports, and land borders to smuggle prohibited weapons as major election cycles approach.He reaffirmed that the Nigeria Customs Service is redoubling border surveillance and enforcement measures to disrupt illegal arms networks and protect national stability.Furthermore, the service confirmed that preparations are underway to hand over the seized armaments to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons under the Office of the National Security Adviser for further investigation and destruction.
“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, and 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 major seizure highlights ongoing inter-agency collaboration aimed at curbing small arms proliferation across Nigeria and the broader West African region. Maritime security analysts and port stakeholders commended the intelligence-driven operation, emphasizing that preventing dangerous weapons from reaching illicit markets is critical to public safety. As investigations proceed to identify the importers and international networks behind the shipment, security agencies are maintaining heightened monitoring across all port terminals. Will inter-agency tracking succeed in dismantling the global trafficking syndicate behind this illegal arms shipment
