The Niger/Kogi Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has handed over 7,560 packages containing 189,000 seized cartridges to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW).
The handover ceremony, held at the Niger/Kogi Area Command, Minna, on September 2, 2026, was conducted by the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Mohammed Sani Umar, who represented the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.
According to the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Customs I Abubakar Abdulkareem Zakariya, the ammunition was intercepted on June 18, 2018, by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service during an operation that highlighted their vigilance and commitment to preventing the illicit movement of arms and ammunition.
Zakariya noted that the seizure reflected the critical role of the Service in suppressing the smuggling and proliferation of prohibited items capable of undermining national security.
Receiving the seized items on behalf of the Director-General of the NCCSALW was the Zonal Director, North Central Zone, Abdul Adamu Eneche, DDGSS (Rtd.), while the ceremony was also witnessed by the representative of the State Director, Department of State Services (DSS), alongside senior officers of the Niger/Kogi Area Command.
Speaking during the ceremony, Comptroller Mohammed Sani Umar reaffirmed the Nigeria Customs Service’s determination to protect national security through sustained border surveillance, intelligence-led operations, effective information gathering and collaboration with relevant security agencies.
Comptroller Umar stated that the formal transfer of the seized ammunition demonstrated the Service’s commitment to ensuring that seized arms and ammunition are properly accounted for, preserved and transferred to the appropriate authority in accordance with extant laws, established procedures, and government policy.
He reiterated the NCS’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with sister security and law enforcement agencies to prevent the illicit movement of arms, ammunition and other prohibited items across the nation’s borders.
Umar noted that effective inter-agency cooperation remains essential to safeguarding national security, maintaining peace and ensuring that items recovered through enforcement operations are subjected to appropriate legal and administrative processes.
In his remarks, Abdul Adamu Eneche commended the Comptroller-General of Customs and the Nigeria Customs Service for their vigilance, professionalism and sustained efforts to combat the illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition.
Eneche particularly appreciated the Niger/Kogi Area Command for the successful recovery, preservation and eventual transfer of the seized ammunition to the appropriate authority, stressing that such cooperation remains vital to addressing the proliferation and illicit movement of small arms and light weapons.
The handover further demonstrated the importance of inter-agency cooperation and institutional accountability in the management of seized arms and ammunition.
The Command stated that it remains resolute in the discharge of its statutory mandate to suppress smuggling, facilitate legitimate trade and contribute meaningfully to the protection of national security, peace and the well-being of Nigerians.
