Election violence fears as Customs seizes 603 firearms

The Nigeria Customs Service has intercepted about 603 firearms that entered Nigeria between January and August 2026 as the country prepares for the 2027 general elections, which will be held in a few months.

Findings show that the figure represents the total number of seized ammunition already reportedly handed over to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.

The Independent National Electoral Commission’s current timetable fixes the Presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.

The 2027 polls will be the first general elections conducted under the Electoral Act 2026, following amendments to Nigeria’s electoral framework.

In January, The PUNCH reported that NCS, Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited, in a press statement, announced that it handed over seized arms and ammunition to the NCCSALW.

The command stated that contraband was intercepted on 25 different occasions during the examination of imported vehicles between 2022 and 2025.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Joe Anani, said the exercise underscored the Service’s zero tolerance for smuggling and its resolve to ensure that only legitimate trade thrives within Nigeria’s borders.

“The items handed over included five pistols of different makes, one Crossman Pump Master rifle, 132 Remington live cartridges, 51 rounds of 9mm Luger ammunition, four 9mm magazines, 40 rounds of assorted 9mm and blank/hollow ammunition, as well as 118 empty 9mm shells,” he stated.

Also in January, Vanguard reported that the Nigeria Customs Service, the Ogun Area 1 Command, said it intercepted 2,128 live cartridges, 1,315 explosives, hard drugs including methamphetamine and heroin, as well as locally made guns and revolver pistols.

The Acting Controller of the Command, Oladapo Afeni, who disclosed this during a press conference in Idiroko, handed over the seized arms and ammunition to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.

Further research also showed that between February and July, the service did not record the interception of any arms at its various commands.

However, in June, the NCS, Oyo/Osun Area Command, said it arrested suspects in possession of three pump-action rifles. According to a report by the Nigerian Tribune on June 18, the Acting Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Wale Moses Adewole, disclosed this while addressing journalists at the command.

On August 18, The PUNCH reported that the NCS handed over the seized 399 illegally imported Jojef pump-action rifles through the Tin Can Island Port to the NCCSALW. This is even as the service said it had also arrested an importer and a female clearing agent over the alleged illegal importation.

Speaking during the handover ceremony at the Tin Can Island Port, Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, said the container conveying the weapons arrived at the port on July 8 aboard the vessel MV Velika and was flagged for inspection by the customs risk management system.

He said the firearms had been dismantled and concealed in knocked-down form in an apparent attempt to evade detection. According to him, examination and reassembly of the consignment resulted in the recovery of 399 fully assembled Jojef pump-action rifles and 535 assorted firearm components.

“The components included 89 frames, 80 charging handles, 57 trigger groups and 25 locking lugs,” he said.

Adeniyi warned that criminal networks could seek to exploit Nigeria’s borders, ports and airports ahead of the next general elections to move prohibited items into the country. He assured Nigerians that the service would intensify surveillance and enforcement operations to prevent such activities.

Receiving the firearms, the Director-General of NCCSALW, Kokomo Johnson, said illicit small arms and light weapons remained a major catalyst for terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, insurgency and other violent crimes.

Also on August 31, the Tin Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service handed over 204 seized pump-action rifles imported from Turkey to the NCCSALW.

Adeniyi, while handing over the seized rifles to the South West Coordinator of the NCCSALW, Abiodun Alamutu, explained that the seizure was preceded by credible intelligence and sustained efforts to prevent the importation and circulation of illegally imported firearms into Nigeria.

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In one of his recent comments after the interception of some of the arms, the Customs boss, Adeniyi, said, “This is a very delicate period for Nigerian history. We are about entering a major election cycle and we know that at 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. While they make attempts, they will want to find accomplices within the Customs and other security agencies. I want to assure Nigerians that the NCS will not have any of these people who will want to serve as accomplices or use their position to influence the importation of goods that will threaten our peace and security and threaten the credibility and peaceful conduct of the next general election.

“All hands will be on deck and this is why we invite Nigerians to join us. When you have any information or intelligence that could lead us to these criminal people, do not hesitate to contact us.”

Also, a maritime research group, Sea Empowerment & Research Centre, commended the NCS for the intelligence-led interception of firearms and firearm components concealed among declared household goods in a container originating from Turkey.

SEREC, in a recent bulletin signed by its Head of Research, Eugene Nweke, obtained by The PUNCH, urged the government to treat the shipment of the firearms as more than an enforcement success.

“The latest seizure, coming only weeks after the interception at the same port of firearm components that yielded 399 pump-action rifles, should, however, be treated as more than an enforcement success. It is a national-security intelligence signal requiring a deeper investigation of the entire supply chain,” the group said.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, commended the NCS for helping protect the country through an intelligence-led operation at the ports. He described the frequent importation and seizure of arms as a reflection of the desperation among the political class.

“I will say that this is a reflection of the desperation among the political class about this election. It is not a very good thing that you are seeing a frequent attempt to import firearms. And that is the issue of the risk of violence because when people begin to read this kind of thing, it makes people nervous.

“There is also the risk of investment in our environment because, in some extreme cases, it scares people away from the country, including investors. So it is not a very good signal at all that we are having this kind of import,” Yusuf stated.

Also speaking, maritime expert Mr Okey Ibeke said the frequent interception and seizure of firearms is multidimensional, as it poses a security threat to the country.

“Number one is the security, the threat to security, then, of course, they also intercepted, but we don’t know the quantity that passed through the system undetected because if its concealment is dismantled, even the scanning machine cannot even detect whether they are gone or not. The ones that were intercepted were through intelligence and risk management and risk analysis,” Ibekwe said.

He called for a thorough investigation into the seizures, including the source of origin, among others.

“Then, the second, it is not enough to intercept those arms. After intercepting them, what next? Have the importers, the financiers, been tracked? Has the source of the arms been established? Has our government gotten in touch with the government of the source? They are very important,” he stated.(Punch)