Nigeria Customs Service on Sunday said the military equipment recently intercepted by Nigerian authorities were bound for Niger Republic.

Mr Joseph Attah, a spokesperson for Customs, said six drivers attached to the vehicles were also held by Nigerian authorities.

Six mine-resistance all-terrain vehicles were seized last week in Adamawa state and handed over to the Customs on Saturday.

The heavily fortified equipment were being conveyed without appropriate documentation, including their ownership, source and destination, when they were seized by Nigerian soldiers in Fufore Local Government Area.

The equipment were later handed over to Customs by Nigerian Army 23 Armoured Brigade at a low-key ceremony in Konkol, Adamawa State.

Military sources said the conditions under which the equipment were being transported were suspicious, especially in a region that has been racked by a 10-year-long insurgency.

Adamawa, alongside Borno and Yobe, have been the three most affected states by the devastating toll of Boko Haram menace.

Nigerians expressed deep concerns over how the equipment could be moved within Nigeria’s borders without being detected for a while.

But on Sunday, Customs said Nigerians should see the seizure as a manifestation of pragmatic measures of security and law enforcement agencies.

“There was no evidence that proper transit procedure had been followed by those moving the equipment,” Attah said. “This was quickly detected by a combined team of Customs, military and the State Security Service.”

Attah said the drivers conveying the military hardware said they left Cameroon and on their way to Niger Republic.

“Nigeria appears to be a transit route for the equipment,” Attah said.

“But even then, moving them would require clearance from Office of National Security Adviser, in addition to several other procedures that must be followed.”

Attah said Customs was asked to take charge of the equipment because it has statutory responsibility “over anything that is crossing through Nigerian borders.”

Nigerian Army and SSS have not issued public statements about the seized equipment.

PT