Illegal Firearms Importation:

The Nigeria Customs Service has said that it has intensified patrol on all discovered illegal routes in Lagos and Ogun states to check smuggling of firearms into the country.
Public Relations Officer of Zone A Federal Operations Unit (FOU) of the Service, Ikeja, Mr Uche Ejesieme, said this last weekend in Lagos.
Ejesieme said that the Comptroller-General of Customs was worried over the proliferation of firearms in the country, therefore gave a matching order to all comptrollers to intensify patrols at all routes.

The Nigeria Customs Service has said that it has intensified patrol on all discovered illegal routes in Lagos and Ogun states to check smuggling of firearms into the country.
Public Relations Officer of Zone A Federal Operations Unit (FOU) of the Service, Ikeja, Mr Uche Ejesieme, said this last weekend in Lagos.
Ejesieme said that the Comptroller-General of Customs was worried over the proliferation of firearms in the country, therefore gave a matching order to all comptrollers to intensify patrols at all routes.
Giving an insight into what has been done, he disclosed that: “When the new Zonal Comptroller, Mr Nuhu Mohammed took over the leadership in about a month ago, he directed that we should intensify our patrols around all illegal routes in the zone.“We have identified some flash points where we have intensified patrols so that unwanted goods such as illegal arms do not find their ways in whatever guise into the country.
“Some of the unapproved routes found in Ogun axis have been blocked by our patrols. We have been motivated by the Customs authorities to do a good job.
“We have more patrol vehicles and equipment to fight smugglers. We have good welfare for our men,’’ Ejesieme said.
The image maker however said further that, no firearm smugglers had been arrested in the zone in recent time due to the strict policing by their men of approved and none-approved routes.
He said that the collaboration of some of the stakeholders, including freight forwarders, importers, members of Customs consultative

council, rice millers and other sister security agencies among others, had also assisted in checking firearms smuggling.
He said that these efforts had led to the arrest of a petrol tanker used in smuggling the largest consignment of poultry products in the zone.
He said that the zone also had embarked on a mass sensitisation and enlightenment programmes to educate the people living around the borders on the danger of smuggling.
“The last seizure of rice at Gbaji-Eke area, a border town between Lagos and Ogun was successful through the assistance of the youths in the area after the enlightenment campaign,’’ Ejesieme said.