Three thousand cutlasses suspected to have been smuggled into Nigeria from Ghana have been impounded by Nigeria’s Customs Officers on Friday.
The Lagos Command of the Nigerian Customs found the cutlasses hidden under bags of rice being smuggled into the country.
Nigeria has banned the imports of rice into the country in a bid to encourage local production of the staple grain and to save foreign exchange.
News about the seizure of the Crocodile brand cutlasses was televised by the Nigerian Television Authority Network News evening segment on Friday.
With Africa’s most populous nation election due next year, security agencies have been charged to be on the lookout for anything that would compromise the peace of the nation.
The smuggled cutlasses, it is thought by some observers could be used for acts of lawlessness before, during and after the elections.
At a time when the country appears to have subdued militants and bandits who kidnap persons and demand ransoms, such smuggled offensive weapons are regarded with much suspicion.
