ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), DIG Johnson Kokumo (retd.), has dismissed online claims alleging that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) was behind the illegal importation of arms intercepted at the Tin Can Island Port in Lagos.
Speaking on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, Kokumo clarified that viral video reports claiming ONSA or National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu was responsible for the smuggled weapons are entirely false, misleading, and malicious.
Core Clarifications from the NCCSALW Director-General
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Refuting Viral Claims: Kokumo stated that claims accusing ONSA of importing the intercepted arms are completely baseless, confirming that the weapons were illegally smuggled from Turkey by criminal syndicates.
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Inter-Agency Collaboration: The Arms Centre boss emphasized that ONSA and the NCCSALW worked directly with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to uncover, intercept, and assemble the knocked-down firearm components at Tin Can Island.
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Public Interception Timeline: Kokumo recalled standing alongside Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi at Tin Can Island Port during the official handover of 399 assembled pump-action rifles in mid-August, followed by the recent interception of an additional 204 pump-action rifles.
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Cracking Down on Illicit Manufacturers: Addressing broader security efforts, Kokumo reiterated that while the federal government is identifying local, naturally talented artisanal gunsmiths for productive national integration, it maintains an uncompromising stance against criminal syndicates producing or importing sophisticated illegal arms into Nigeria.
“The story in the video is not correct and cannot be correct. I was at the Tin Can Island Port with the Comptroller-General… These weapons were intercepted through intelligence-led operations by Customs and our joint experts under the Office of the National Security Adviser.”
— DIG Johnson Kokumo (retd.), Director-General, NCCSALW
