READ: HOW TURKEY GOVERNMENT PLAN TO BRING WAR TO NIGERIA

Since the beggining of the year, personnel of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have intercepted four batches of cache of weapons illegally making their way across Nigeria.

Many of the interceptions have occurred at the Tin Can Island port in Apapa, Lagos.

February 2017, Customs seized 661 pieces of pump-action rifles which reportedly arrived Nigeria’s shores from China. The guns were hidden within steel doors and other goods. The AK47 rifles were concealed in 49 boxes.

June of 2017, Customs personnel seized a container with 440 arms and ammunition including pump action rifles and single-barreled devices. The cargo which was coming from Turkey, was disguised as Plaster Of Paris (POP).

Likewise in September 2017, Customs seized 1,100 firearms being smuggled in from Turkey—again at the Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos.

The arms were concealed in a 20-foot container.

Undetected weapons
The Comptroller-General of Customs Hameed Ali announced that two persons had been arrested in connection with that cache seizure.

The two arrested persons were a Customs official and a Terminal Clerk--supporting claims that the smugglers work in cahoots with compromised officials in Nigeria.

Again, Customs has just announced the seizure of another cache of 470 rifles.

For purposes of a compilation, 661 weapons were intercepted in February, 440 in June and 1,570 in September alone. That brings the total number of weapons seized thus far this year in Nigeria to 2, 671.

Pundits say for each arms interception made public, there are at least six or more cache of arms making their way across Nigeria’s porous borders, undetected.

“Now that Tin Can Island port has become a hot spot for arms smuggling, these criminals will move elsewhere and we must be on the alert,” admitted Customs boss Ali who also agreed that stopping the influx is becoming a herculean task for his team.

Turkish connection
The light weapons and small arms proliferation in Nigeria has led some pundits to suggest that it has everything to do with the unrest in the Southeast by the since proscribed Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) and the forthcoming Anambra governorship election in November.

The name ‘Turkey’ has cropped up in recent times as law enforcement attempt to get a handle on the arms proliferation saga.

On September 17, 2017, Turkey had to deny Abdülkadir Erkahraman—one of its nationals who has openly identified with IPOB and its activities and who is close friends with IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu.

Turkey said Erkahraman is neither a diplomat nor a civil servant or an official representative of the Government of Turkey like he claims.

In unofficial circles, Erkahraman has been described as "IPOB's arms supplier".

According to the Turkish embassy: "Turkey never supports secessionist activities against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

However, Customs Comptroller Ali says there is an arms syndicate operating in Turkey that is behind the illegal cargoes and shipments of late.

“Our findings have shown that this dastardly act is being committed by Nigerians and there are syndicates in Turkey that are manifesting this.

“We are yet to get to the bottom of the whole thing. Are these arms meant for commercial purposes, or meant to be given to a group of insurgents or agitators and kidnappers?

“That aspect of the investigation is still ongoing, the DSS and other agencies will let us know what their findings are".

sources:
http://www.pulse.ng/news/local/biafra-is-turkey-arming-rebel-groups-in-nigeria-id7365054.html