[REVISION HISTORY]

Nigeria Customs: enforcement, reforms, and arms seizures

Updated 6 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-31 18:33 UTC → 2026-09-04 11:51 UTC · added ~~removed~~

During the first half of 2026, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) intensified seizures of illegal vegetable oil, rice, cannabis, counterfeit medicines, and fuel. Legislative reforms progressed as the Counterfeit Medical Products Bill moved through the Senate and the AfCFTA customs-interoperability project launched with Afreximbank. In August, enforcement focused heavily on arms and narcotics. At Tin Can Island Port, officials intercepted a container of cannabis-infused snacks and rifle components valued at N373.8 million, followed by the seizure of 399 fully assembled Jojef pump-action rifles and various components. Later in the month, 204 MAS 49 ALTER MAGNUM rifles were discovered concealed within a shipment of used household goods arriving from Turkey. By early September, details emerged regarding the Turkish shipment intercepted at Tin Can Island Port. The 204 MAS 49 ALTER MAGNUM pump-action rifles and various components—including trigger pins, locking lugs, and charging handles—were found concealed among declared items such as furniture, refrigerators, solar panels, and detergents. The seized items were handed over to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW). In response to the recurring discovery of Turkish-origin firearms, the Sea Empowerment & Research Center (SEREC) urged the government to trace the entire supply chain and called for closer intelligence cooperation between Nigerian and Turkish authorities. Inter-agency collaboration also yielded results in the waterways and borders. On July 31, the Nigerian Navy and NCS intercepted four boats in the Badagry waterways, seizing 518 bags of smuggled rice. At the Seme border, the Seme Area Command intercepted 1,306 sacks of expired noodles, 3,300 cartridges of explosives, 1,268 bags of foreign rice, and various pharmaceutical products, with a total duty-paid value of approximately N365.16 million. Simultaneously, law enforcement targeted pharmaceutical fraud. Lagos State Police arrested two suspects in a warehouse raid involving adulterated drugs like Omeprazole and Viagra, intended for distribution within Nigeria and to Togo. Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi has noted that criminal networks frequently attempt to smuggle prohibited items during major election cycles.

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