Customs Engages Turkish Counterpart To Stop Illegal Arms Importation

Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has said it is engaging its Turkish counterpart to halt influx of illicit arms and weapons into the country.

The spokesman, NCS Abdullahi Maiwada disclosed this at the Strategic Communication Inter-agency Policy Committee (SCIPC) under the office of the National Security Adviser held at the Force Headquarters yesterday.

Maiwada said the CG Bashir Adeniyi had also ratified an agreement with Chinese Customs to address the same issue.

The Nigerian Customs Service had, on July 1, 2024, intercepted and seized arms and ammunition worth N18.23 billion at the Onne Port in Rivers State in containers originating from Turkey.

The items recovered include 848 rifles and 112,500 rounds of live ammunition.

The illegal arms were concealed in other items inside a 1X40 foot container ‚MAEU165396‘, while the drugs found in different cartons were in nine containers.

Again, on July 1, 2024, the NCS intercepted assorted arms, drones, and military accoutrements worth N1.5 billion at Murtala Muhammad Airport, exported from Turkey to Lagos State.

Maiwada said, “ If you recall, some two or three months back, we signed an MoU with the general administration of China Customs.

Most of the drugs we intercept come from India. We are also working towards what is called customs-to-customs cooperation. For those of us within the World Customs Organization, customs-to-customs cooperation is part of the strategy to ensure trade facilitation and cut illicit trade.

“So, we are working together with those Customs administrations. And at the higher level, there will also be diplomatic engagement, which is above us.”

The spokesman explained further that the comptroller-general of Customs recently addressed members of the press due to an interception at the Murtala Muhammad Airport.

He said, „And the same question was raised about Turkey. Fortunately, there was an MoU with Turkey. When he was the spokesperson of the customs during the late Comptroller General, he promised he was going to resurrect that MoU to engage with the Turkish customs administration on how to curtail the menace of the smuggling of small arms and light weapons into Nigeria.“