Ribadu not behind illegal arms importation” — Kokumo
By Kingsley Omonobi
ABUJA — The Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, NCCSALW, DIG Johnson Kokumo (rtd.), has dismissed as fake news a viral video alleging that suspects arrested over the importation of illegal arms through the Tin Can Island Port were sponsored by the National Security Adviser, NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
Kokumo, who spoke in Abuja on Tuesday, said he was personally present when the Nigerian Customs Service handed over 399 assorted automatic weapons intercepted at the port to the centre.
He said the suspects arrested in connection with the arms seizure were in custody and that investigations were ongoing.
“I was at the Tin Can Island Port with the Comptroller-General of Customs. Three hundred and ninety-nine assorted automatic weapons were intercepted by the Nigerian Customs Service at the port. And this cache of arms, illegal weapons, was handed over to the centre.
“I was not there in a representative capacity; I was there personally. And the Comptroller-General, of course, was also present personally to do the handing over.
“As I’m talking to you, the arms are in a secured armoury. Two suspects arrested in connection with the illegal importation are currently in custody.
“Investigation is ongoing with a view to bringing to book the criminal elements in Nigeria and possibly identifying their international criminal partners outside the shores of Nigeria.”
Kokumo said the allegations contained in the viral video were baseless, adding that it also called for violence against Ribadu and other individuals.
“So, what has gone viral in the video is not correct and cannot be correct,” he stated.
The NCCSALW boss also explained that the Federal Government would continue to destroy recovered illicit weapons to prevent them from being diverted back into the hands of criminal and non-state actors.
He said the destruction of recovered weapons was in line with international conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory, including agreements under the United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS.
“Another reason for destroying them is to also ensure that the weapons so recovered do not find their ways back into the hands of non-state actors for use on innocent citizens of Nigeria,” he said.
Kokumo disclosed that 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 centre since 2022 to more than 19,000.
According to him, the destruction formed 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.
Kokumo further disclosed that the centre received 5,050 illicit, unserviceable, decommissioned and obsolete assorted automatic weapons retrieved from the Nigeria Police Force in June 2026.
He added that 399 JOJEF automatic guns intercepted by the Nigerian Customs Service were handed over to the centre on August 17, 2026.
The NCCSALW director-general, however, said the government was not targeting legitimate local arms manufacturers, explaining that some artisanal producers possessed skills that could be harnessed for national development.
“From time immemorial, in villages in Nigeria, we have traditional, well-aligned rights where people even fire for joy; they use Dane guns to do all this. We have local hunters who go into the bushes to hunt for rats and rabbits.
“All these guns, of course, are manufactured by local artisanal producers. But what we see now is the introduction of sophisticated weapons.”
He said the government was particularly concerned about criminal manufacturers producing sophisticated illicit weapons.
Kokumo added that the government had identified talented local manufacturers whose skills could be harnessed for productive purposes.
“We have equally identified talents among the local manufacturers. The talents, those who are naturally talented, of course, will be absorbed into our plans, and we’ll see how they can be most efficiently and productively used in national service,” he said.
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