The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), on Wednesday April 13, arrested an American citizen for being in possession of firearms at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The male passenger (names withheld) arrived in the country aboard a United Airlines flight from Houston, United States, which landed at 10:10am.
He was said to be in possession of two international passports – Nigerian and American.
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A source close to the Lagos Airport said that the American citizen did not declare the firearms as stipulated in international laws on firearms carriage.
The firearms, including the handgun, a Barretta and 26 rounds of 9mm ammunition, concealed in his luggage were recovered.
Another source said that the passenger had some documents from the U.S, which allowed him to carry firearms, but the authenticity of the papers could not be ascertained.
“Officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service actually intercepted the passenger with the firearms during screening. The passenger is undergoing scrutiny from the officials of the service and will be handed over to the relevant authorities after interrogation. A source at the airport said
Besides, we learnt that the passenger with dual citizenship has the approval of the US Government to carry firearms, but such should have been declared at the port of entry, which he didn’t do. However, we are yet to verify the documents he’s carrying.”
A statement by the Nigeria Immigration Service headquarters revealed that the Lagos Airport Comptroller, CIS Kemi Nandap, had stated that the Service received a credible intelligence that the passenger boarded the aircraft in Houston and had concealed a firearm in his luggage
