Turkish govt denies involvement in arms smuggle into Nigeria, pledges cooperation

The Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil, Tuesday met with the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd), over the recent seizures of Pump Action rifles imported into the country from Turkey, denying his government’s involvement.

The meeting, which lasted for about two hours, was held at the headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service in Abuja.

This was made known in a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Joseph Attah.

Attah revealed that the meeting focused on how to come up with strategies on how best to deal with the recurring cases of arms importation into Nigeria from Turkey, noting that this year alone, the NCS had, on four occasions, intercepted pump action rifles smuggled into the country totaling 2,671 pieces.

In January, the NCS seized 661 pieces of pump action rifles which were found in 49 boxes.

In May, operatives also intercepted 440 pieces of assorted pump action rifles, while in September 11, 2017, another 1,100 rifles were intercepted at the Tin Can Island.

All these rifles were found to have originated from Turkey.

Read also: For the 4th time in 8 months, Customs intercepts guns, this time 2,671 pump action rifles

Ali said to have expressed concerns that four different arms seizures with a total of 2,671 Pump Action rifles were coming from one source –Turkey, raising the possibility of complicity on the part of the Turkish government.

At the end of the meeting, the Turkish Ambassador restated his country’s support for Nigeria’s security, noting that Turkey would not support any dangerous shipment to Nigeria.

Cakil, according to the statement, said that all the four shipments intercepted by the NCS bore false declarations on the bill of lading, indicating a clear case of smuggling.

The ambassador then agreed to communicate to his home country the outcome of the investigations from Customs which he reckoned would help expose the criminals behind the illegal arms shipment.

 

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