Lagos State | Customs Officers Arrested Over Intercepted Pump Action Riffles

An update on the weapons intercepted by Customs officers in Lagos has indicted an officer of Nigeria Customs Service. 

Recall the Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs, intercepted a container loaded with 49 boxes of 661 pump-action rifles along the Mile 2 Apapa Road of Lagos State.

The 40-foot container, which was SURPRISINGLY cleared at the Lagos port, was intercepted by Customs officials who were on patrol.

Officials discovered that although the manifest said the container had 'steel doors and merchandise goods', boxes of the weapons were concealed deep in the container.

The rifles, tagged, ‘JOJEFF made in Italy,’ could take 10 cartridges and wreak a lot of havoc.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), during a press conference on Monday at the FOU, Zone A, Ikeja, said the container came from China, but was routed through Turkey to “cause confusion.”

He explained that three suspects, Oscar Okafor (importer), Mahmud Hassan (clearing agent) and Sadique Mustapha (escort) had been arrested.

He said the suspects were undergoing interrogations.

He said, "Such a deadly contravention of the law is even more unacceptable considering the fragile security situation in some parts of the country. We have kidnappers and armed robbers and there is insurgency, it is more intense. There are also the cattle rustlers, who are also using the same weapon. So, they are deadly.”

Col Ali said investigations had commenced into how the truck escaped the vigilance of Customs officers at the port, adding that all officers involved in the clearance have been arrested.