By Providence Ayanfeoluwa
LAGOS — The Sea Empowerment & Research Center (SEREC) has urged the Federal Government to move beyond intercepting illegal firearms at Nigerian ports and trace the entire supply chain to prevent weapons from leaving their countries of origin.
The call followed the recent interception of 204 firearms and firearm components concealed among declared household goods at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos, by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). The consignment originated from Turkey.
SEREC, in its end-of-month advisory bulletin issued on August 31, 2026, and made available to Vanguard on September 1, commended the Tin Can Island Port Command for the intelligence-led operation.
However, the centre said the seizure should be treated as a national security intelligence signal requiring a broader investigation into the network behind the shipment.
According to SEREC, the repeated discovery of Turkey-origin firearms warrants renewed source-country intelligence and closer cooperation between Nigerian and Turkish authorities.
It clarified that its call was not intended to accuse the Turkish government, customs authorities or any legitimate Turkish business of involvement in arms trafficking.
The organisation said the latest seizure, coming only weeks after firearm components intercepted at the same port reportedly led to the recovery of 399 pump-action rifles, should prompt authorities to review previous investigations into Turkey-linked arms trafficking.
“The present pattern makes it necessary to establish what became of those investigations, what intelligence was exchanged and what corrective measures resulted,” SEREC said.
The centre urged the government to trace every stage of the supply chain, from the source and exporter to the financier, consolidator, freight forwarder, shipping line, vessel, transit route, consignee and ultimate beneficiary.
It also said shipping lines and maritime logistics operators should form part of risk-based investigations, stressing that the recommendation was not an accusation against any carrier.
“Every major seizure should therefore become a network investigation, not simply a seizure report,” SEREC said, adding that the objective should be to identify and dismantle the networks behind illegal arms shipments.
The organisation also called for the establishment of a Turkey-Nigeria arms trafficking prevention and trade security mechanism involving customs, security, intelligence, financial and maritime authorities in both countries.
It said Nigeria needed to move from port intelligence to trade, source-country and network intelligence.
SEREC further urged the Federal Government to develop an artificial intelligence-enabled shared trade-security intelligence system capable of connecting information on shippers, exporters, consignees, containers, vessels, countries of origin, transshipment points, declarations and previous seizures.
According to the centre, such an interconnected system could help authorities identify patterns that might not be apparent when individual transactions are examined in isolation.
SEREC commended Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and the NCS management for their emphasis on intelligence-led enforcement, technology, risk management and inter-agency cooperation.
It also praised officers at the Tin Can Island Port, Apapa, FOU, Ogun/Idiroko and Seme for their efforts against smuggling and other illicit trade.
The organisation called for improved intelligence, technology, funding, training, welfare and protection for frontline personnel.
SEREC said the ultimate measure of success should not be the number of firearms intercepted but the number of trafficking networks disrupted.
“Catch the cargo — but pursue the chain. Stop the shipment — but secure the source. Deploy AI — but connect the intelligence. Commend the officers — but protect the protectors,” it said.
The organisation’s five-point advisory includes reopening and reviewing previous Turkey-linked arms investigations; establishing a source-country intelligence mechanism with Turkey; investigating the financial and logistics chain behind illegal consignments; deploying AI and shared intelligence to identify recurring cargo, container, shipper, vessel and routing patterns; and making every major arms seizure a network-disruption investigation.
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