•Nigeria Custom Service operatives and seized weapons
Fresh fears of an expanding international arms-trafficking network operating through Nigeria’s ports have intensified ahead of the 2027 general elections following the interception of another consignment of prohibited firearms in Lagos.
The latest seizure of 204 pump-action rifles and firearm components concealed in a 20-foot container at Tin Can Island Port has triggered calls for the federal government to move beyond the seizure of individual consignments and dismantle the international networks financing, sourcing and delivering the weapons into Nigeria, reports Daily Independent.
Security stakeholders warned that the repeated discovery of large consignments of firearms raises a more troubling question than the number of weapons intercepted: how many shipments are getting through undetected?
The Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) urged the government to urgently shift from what it described as “shipment interception” to supply- chain disruption, arguing that Customs seizures represent only the final stage of a sophisticated trafficking operation.
Dr. Eugene Nweke of SEREC said the recurring pattern of firearms allegedly originating from Turkey had become a national security intelligence concern requiring coordinated investigation involving Nigerian and Turkish authorities.
According to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the latest container, TEMU 184536/9, arrived from Turkey aboard MV Algeciras Express on August 16, 2026, and was flagged following credible intelligence.
A 100 percent physical examination subsequently uncovered firearm components concealed among declared household goods, including furniture, refrigerators, solar panels and detergents.
The discovery came only weeks after another operation at the same port yielded 399 fully assembled pump-action rifles and 535 assorted firearm components after Customs officers assembled previously intercepted knocked down components.
Nweke said the recurring interceptions demanded a comprehensive investigation into the manufacturers, suppliers, exporters, financiers, freight forwarders, shipping routes, Nigerian consignees, clearing agents and intended recipients.
“The safest firearm is the one that never leaves the source country,” stakeholders stressed, insisting that Nigeria must strengthen intelligence gathering before weapons are shipped and while they are in transit.
SEREC also urged the government to revisit what it called the “Turkey question”, while stressing that repeated identification of Turkey as the source of consignments should not be interpreted as an allegation against the Turkish government.
Nweke recalled that four shipments involving 2,671 pump-action rifles from Turkey in 2017 had prompted the then Comptroller- General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd.), to engage the Turkish ambassador over the matter.
He questioned what became of the source-country investigation promised at the time, what intelligence was exchanged and what safeguards were subsequently established.
With the 2027 elections approaching, SEREC warned that the proliferation of illicit firearms could have grave implications for public safety and electoral security.
It called for a Turkey-Nigeria arms-trafficking prevention mechanism involving Customs, the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, the Office of the National Security Adviser, police, intelligence agencies, maritime authorities, financial intelligence institutions and Turkish law-enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, Customs Comptroller- General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi vowed that the service would not allow Nigeria’s ports and borders to become channels for weapons capable of threatening national security.
He said the NCS would intensify intelligence-led enforcement, risk management and collaboration with other security agencies to disrupt firearms smuggling.
The Director-General of the NCCSALW, DIG Johnson Babatunde Kokumo (rtd.), described the handover of the seized weapons as evidence of stronger inter- agency cooperation.
For stakeholders, however, the growing challenge now extends beyond what Customs can seize at the ports.
The critical test, they said, is whether Nigeria can identify, expose and dismantle the networks behind the guns before they reach the country.
