The Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) has urged the Federal Government to go beyond intercepting illegal firearms at Nigerian ports and investigate the entire supply chain behind arms shipments entering the country.
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, which originated from Turkey, was intercepted during an intelligence-led operation by the Tin Can Island Port Command.
In its end-of-month advisory bulletin issued on August 31, 2026, SEREC commended the Customs command for the seizure but said it should be treated as a national security intelligence signal requiring a broader investigation into the network behind the shipment.
The organisation said the repeated discovery of Turkey-origin firearms warranted renewed source-country intelligence and closer cooperation between Nigerian and Turkish authorities.
SEREC, however, clarified that its recommendation was not an accusation against the Turkish government, customs authorities or any legitimate Turkish business.
The centre said the latest seizure, coming weeks after firearm components intercepted at the same port reportedly led to the recovery of 399 pump-action rifles, should prompt the 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 organisation urged the Federal Government to trace every stage of the supply chain, including the source, exporter, financier, consolidator, freight forwarder, shipping line, vessel, transit route, consignee and ultimate beneficiary.
It also called for shipping lines and maritime logistics operators to be included in 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,” the organisation said.
SEREC further recommended the establishment of a Turkey-Nigeria arms trafficking prevention and trade security mechanism involving customs, security, intelligence, financial and maritime authorities from both countries.
It said Nigeria needed to move beyond port intelligence to trade, source-country and network intelligence to effectively disrupt illegal arms trafficking.
The organisation also called for an artificial intelligence-enabled shared trade-security intelligence system linking information on shippers, exporters, consignees, containers, vessels, countries of origin, transshipment points, declarations and previous seizures.
According to SEREC, an interconnected system would help authorities identify recurring patterns that might not be detected when individual transactions are examined separately.
The centre commended the 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, Federal Operations Unit, Ogun/Idiroko, and Seme for their efforts to combat smuggling and other forms of illicit trade.
SEREC called for improved intelligence capabilities, technology, funding, training, welfare and protection for frontline personnel.
The organisation said the success of anti-arms trafficking operations should ultimately be measured not by the number of firearms intercepted but by 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.
Its five-point advisory includes reviewing previous Turkey-linked arms investigations, establishing a source-country intelligence mechanism with Turkey, investigating the financial and logistics chains behind illegal consignments, deploying AI and shared intelligence to identify recurring cargo and routing patterns, and making every major arms seizure a network-disruption investigation.