Customs Intercepts 399 Jojef Rifles, Parts at Tin Can Island Port

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted a massive consignment of firearms at the Tin Can Island Port Command, Lagos, comprising 399 fully assembled Jojef pump-action rifles and hundreds of additional rifle components.

The seizure, which the Service described as a major setback to illegal arms trafficking in Nigeria, followed the interception and detailed examination of a container in which the weapons and parts were concealed.

The National Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Abdullah Maiwada, disclosed the development in a statement on Sunday, quoting the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, as saying the container was intercepted on Thursday, August 6, 2026.

According to Adeniyi, the container initially contained crates of knocked-down components suspected to be Jojef pump-action rifles. A comprehensive examination subsequently led to the discovery of 399 fully assembled firearms.

Customs officials also recovered a substantial quantity of supplementary rifle components, including 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/handguards, four pistol grips and five barrels.

Adeniyi warned that criminal networks could attempt to exploit Nigeria’s borders, seaports and airports to smuggle prohibited items into the country as the nation approaches another major electoral cycle.

He said the Customs Service would strengthen surveillance and enforcement operations to frustrate attempts to use the country’s entry points for arms trafficking.

“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,” Adeniyi said.

The Customs boss further reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to intelligence-led operations, enhanced border surveillance and closer collaboration with sister security agencies to detect and dismantle criminal trafficking networks.

He specifically highlighted cooperation with the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) under the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Following the completion of the inventory and assessment of the seized consignment, Adeniyi said the NCS was preparing to hand over the firearms and other recovered armaments to the NCCSALW.

He said the move was aimed at ensuring that the dangerous weapons were completely taken off the streets while efforts continued to identify, track and prosecute those behind the trafficking network.

The latest interception underscores growing security concerns over the movement of illicit firearms into Nigeria, particularly as the country approaches the 2027 general elections, with security agencies expected to intensify monitoring of the nation’s borders and critical entry points.