The Onne command of the Nigeria Customs Service said it seized about 844 rifles and 112,500 round of ammunitions imported into the country from Turkey in 2024, arresting some suspects in the process.

This is just as the chairman of the House Committee on Customs and Excise said the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), relevant government agencies, stakeholders and all Nigerians must take the importation and proliferation of illicit drugs, arms, ammunition as a big challenge because of their devastating effects on the nation especially their contribution on security challenges lives in Nigeria.

The command also seized 9.624 million bottles of 100 ml syrup with codeine, 11.679 million tablets of 50mg of really extra diclofeenac, 64.958 million tablet of 225 mg of tapendatol, a brand of tamadol that has the ability to collapse the central nervous system. 

They also siezed 14.250 million tablet or 5 mg, of benzhexol, 15.6 million tablet of 4mg chlorphenamie, 25 drums of diphenhydramine hydrochloride IP of 25 kg each, 480,000 tablets of Stapsiril, 108,000 tablets of rapid pills for sore throat.

In addition, the command also siezed are 192,990 tablets or microgram of contiflo, 7.665 million capsule of 200 mg of gonorrhoea antibiotics, 38.840 million tablets of lemotil , 600,000 tablets of Sildentil citrate, 2.175 million tablets of 200 my hyergra (a brand of Viagra) and 4.830 million capsules of 300mg of pregabalin. 

Controller of the command, Mohammed Babandede said it took officers of command, assisted by a team of soldiers led by a General from the office of the National Security Adviser, two days to count the seized weapons.

He said the cache of arms has been handed over to the National Security Adviser for custody while those arrested in connection with the import are expected to face trial, adding that arms were enough to cause disruption in the entire southern part of the country if they had entered the country.

Chairman of the House Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapon, Aliyu Happy Misau said aside from arresting some suspects in connection with the arms importation, the originator of the importation in Turkey was arrested and brought to Nigeria to face trial.

He said the antibiotics seized by the command were dangerous to the health of humans, saying incidences of banditry, kidnapping and other organised crimes in the country were directly linked with the illegal importation of arms and illicit drugs. 

While commending the officers and men of the commnad for their achievement, Chairman of the Committee, Leke Abejide said the catche of arms would have gained access into the country and used by enemies of the state to distablise the country. 

According to the Chairman, the seizure was mind boggling and would have created a big security and health risks to the country and the citizens especially as the country battles various types of insecurity challenges across the country in the form of insurgency, banditry, kidnappings and wantont killings by criminals and no state actors.

He asked officers of the command to be more. Vigilant in their operations, saying available information has it that some of the containers being transfered to bonded terminals which are usually not infected at the point of entry always carry illicit drugs. 

Abejide however emphasize the need for the customs to be equipped with modern scanners to ensure easy detection of illicit arms and drugs being imported into the country saying it will make the work of the Customs easier. 

He explained that the essence of the e-customs was to modernise the operations of the service, saying the concessionaires, Trade Modernisation Project were supposed to install scanners in all areas of Customs operations. 

He said “the concession is for 20 billion dollars for 20 years and they are supposed to deploy scanners. When they do that, your revenue will increase. 

“Nigerians should be proud that the Customs is deploying an indigenous technology for its operations. The B’Odogwu was designed by Nigerians”.

He expressed concern over constant seizure of illicit drugs in all Customs, saying the House will support any legislation aimed at addressing drug abuse, especially the smuggling of illicit drugs into the country. 

On welfare of the officers, Abejide said his committee was in full support of increasing salaries ot Customs Officers and has recommended a 100 percent increase as a way of motivating them. 

He also said that the committee was compiling a list of abandoned projects across all customs formations, especially those that has to do with the accommodation of officers. 

The Assistant Conotroller General in charge of Zone, Sambo Dangaladima told the committee that because of the unique nature of Onne, officers posted there are always profiled before they are deployed to serve there.