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The Director General of the National Center for Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), DIG Johnson Kokumo (Rtd.), has rejected allegations contained in a viral video alleging that persons arrested for the seizure of illegal weapons at Tin Can Island Port were allegedly sponsored by National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday during the joint briefing of security spokesmen, Kokumo said he was personally present at the Tin Can Island port when the Nigerian Customs Service handed over to the center 399 assorted automatic weapons intercepted at the port.
He said the claims in the video were false.
“The story in the video is incorrect and cannot be corrected.
“I was at the Tin Can Island Port with the Comptroller General. Three hundred and ninety-nine assorted automatic weapons were intercepted by the Nigerian Customs Service at the port. And this cache of weapons, illegal weapons, was handed over to the center.
“I wasn’t there as a representative, I was there personally. And of course the Comptroller General was also there personally to make the delivery,” he said.
According to him, the seized weapons are currently stored in an armory, while two suspects arrested in connection with the illegal importation remain in custody.
“As I speak to you, the weapons are in a secured arsenal. Two suspects arrested in connection with the illegal importation are currently in custody.
“Investigations are ongoing with the aim of apprehending criminal elements in Nigeria and possibly identifying their international criminal partners outside the shores of Nigeria,” Kokumo added.
He argued that the allegations in the viral video were unfounded, adding that the video also called for violence against the NSA and other people.
“So, what went viral in the video is incorrect and cannot be corrected,” he said.
Kokumo further revealed that the federal government continued to destroy recovered illicit weapons to prevent them from returning to the hands of criminal and non-state actors.
He said the destruction of the weapons was in line with international conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory, including the United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS agreements.
“And, of course, another reason to destroy them is also to ensure that the weapons so recovered do not return to the hands of non-state actors to be used on innocent citizens of Nigeria,” he said.
The Director-General said the second quarter arms destruction exercise for 2026, conducted on July 30 at the Muhammadu Buhari cantonment, Giri, Abuja, resulted in the public destruction of 1,419 illicit weapons.
He said the latest exercise brought the cumulative number of illicit weapons destroyed by the center since 2022 to more than 19,000.
Kokumo said the destruction is part of the federal government’s efforts to prevent the possession and use of illicit weapons by non-state actors involved in terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes.
He also revealed that the center received 5,050 assorted illicit, unserviceable, decommissioned and obsolete automatic weapons recovered from the Nigeria Police Force in June 2026.
He added that 399 JOJEF automatic pistols intercepted by the Nigerian Customs Service were delivered to the center on August 17, 2026.
Kokumo, however, said the government had not targeted legitimate local arms manufacturers, explaining that some artisanal producers possess skills that could be harnessed for national development.
“Since time immemorial, in the villages of Nigeria, we have traditional and well-aligned rights where people also shoot for joy; they use Danish guns to do all this. We have local hunters who go into the bushes to hunt rats and rabbits.
“All these weapons, of course, are produced by local artisanal manufacturers. But what we are seeing now is the introduction of sophisticated weapons,” he said.
He added that the government is particularly concerned about criminal manufacturers producing sophisticated illicit weapons.
Kokumo said the center is prosecuting criminal manufacturers of illicit weapons.
“And we have equally identified talents among local producers: talents, those who have natural talent, of course, will be absorbed into our plans, and we will see how they can be used most efficiently and productively in the national service,” Kokumo said.
