Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have uncovered 399 fully assembled Jojef pump-action firearms and a substantial cache of supplementary rifle parts following a comprehensive physical examination and technical coupling exercise at the Tin Can Island Port Command in Lagos.
​The official announcement was made on Sunday, August 9, 2026, via a formal statement released in Abuja by the National Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Chief Superintendent of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada.
​The major security breakthrough originated from an operation initiated on Thursday, August 6, 2026, when vigilance systems flagged a suspicious shipping container carrying concealed wooden crates at the Lagos port terminal.
​Initially imported as knocked-down mechanical parts, specialized arms technicians spent subsequent days conducting inventory, inspection, and coupling operations.
The detailed exercise confirmed the recovery of 399 functional firearms, along with a wide range of essential firearm spare components: 89 frames, 57 trigger groups, 45 foregrips/handguards, 16 heat shields, and 5 barrels.
Internal Mechanisms include 80 charging handles, 25 locking lugs, 10 trigger pins, and 3 pistons and Hardware & Fasteners of 66 foregrip latches, 39 pistol-grip screws, 34 springs, and 4 standalone pistol grips.
​Highlighting the gravity of the seizure, the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, warned that syndicates frequently attempt to smuggle arms to destabilize the nation ahead of major political milestones.
​”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,” Adeniyi warned. “We are going to redouble our efforts to ensure that we do not allow them to do so.”
​The Customs chief reassured the public that the agency is maintaining high operational alertness, strengthening port perimeter security, and relying on risk intelligence to neutralize illegal trafficking syndicates before contraband reaches Nigerian communities.
​The NCS confirmed that following the completion of full documentation and technical audits, all 399 weapons and supplementary components will be formally turned over to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
​Collaborative investigations alongside federal intelligence agencies remain active to track down the criminal network, clearing agents, and international suppliers connected to the illicit cargo.
