On July 1, 2024, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announced that it had seized 40-foot container loaded with 844 rifles, 112,500 pieces of ammunition coming from Turkey to Nigeria at Onne Port in Rivers State. The Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Bashir Adebiyi has not revealed the identity of the owner of the ammunition. This is not the first time that the illegal ammunition would be imported from Turkey to Nigeria. The NCS had previously seized 1,100 pump action rifles in a container at Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos State sometime in 2017 and the said illegal ammunition was imported from Turkey. Up till date, Nigerians didn’t know owner of the said seized illegal imported ammunition at Tin-Can Island. Another illegal consignment containing 661 pieces of pump-action rifles was also smuggled into Nigeria from China sometime in 2017 and was intercepted in Lagos and nobody heard about the real owner till date.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected to take urgent action by directing the Customs boss to transfer all the cases of illegally imported ammunition to the Department of State Services for discreet investigation and possible prosecution of the real owners of the imported ammunition.

The Presidency needs to expose those who are secretly importing ammunition. To end insecurity in Nigeria, the Federal Government must stop the illegal importation of ammunition and end insecurity in Nigeria.