Shock greeted the news on Tuesday evening that a combined team of security agents had impounded 13 containers suspected to be loaded with arms and ammunition at Apapa Wharf in Lagos.

The discovery was made barely two weeks after a consignment of electronic equipment suspected to contain toxic materials was seized at the same port. The ship that brought in the consignment, however, disappeared from the port.

Almost four weeks ago, twin car bomb blasts killed 16 people and injured 66 others in Abuja on October 1.

An intelligence source told THE PUNCH that senior security officials swooped on the port, based on information that a suspicious cargo had been brought into the country from [size=15pt]Iran[/size].

The source said top officials from the Police, the State Security Service, the Directorate of Military Intelligence and Naval Intelligence participated in the operation.

It was gathered that the clearing agent had raised suspicion when he allegedly offered to “pay any amount” to get the containers transferred from AP Moller Terminal to an off-dock terminal.

The agent reportedly pleaded for the containers to be screened outside the ports.

But his attempts failed, as information was passed to the relevant quarters on his suspicious actions. It was at this juncture that security agents were called in to search the containers. The unidentified importers of the consignment were said to have described its contents as building materials.

It was gathered that when the first container was opened, the security agents found various sizes of grenades, rocket launchers, bombs, assault rifles and heavy machine guns hidden in 24 crates of building tiles.

However, the source said, “We cannot quantify the contents yet. All we know for now is that they are concealed in tiles.”

The SSS Assistant Director, Public Relations, Mrs. Marilyn Ogar, confirmed the seizure to our correspondent on the telephone, saying the weapons were concealed among crates of floor tiles.

“On opening the first container, operatives discovered rocket launchers, grenades and other explosives,” she said.

She, however, declined to provide the identity of the vessel that brought in the containers and its final destination. Ogar confirmed that the containers’ manifest indicated they contained building materials.

She said security agents would search the containers through the night.

Ogar said security agents got information after the October 1 twin bomb blasts in Abuja that “arms were being brought into the country.”

When contacted, the spokesman of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, said, “As I speak with you, the first container is still being examined. We understand they are 13 in number. The contents of the first showed it had mortals, bullets and such related items.”

Attempt to obtain a reaction from the First Secretary, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Sadeghazadeh, on Tuesday night failed as he did not answer calls to his phone. He did not also respond to an SMS.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta claimed responsibility for the blasts that cast a slur on Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary celebration.

MEND leader, Mr. Henry Okar, is facing trial in a Johannesburg Magistrate court in South Africa, for allegedly being the mastermind of the blasts.

His brother, Charles and five others are also being prosecuted in Abuja for their alleged roles in the incident.

Most kidnap cases, oil platform seizures and disruptions in the Niger Delta are known to have been carried out by the group whose sources of arms and ammunition have largely remained unknown.

The National Task Force Combating Illegal Importation of Goods, Small Arms, Ammunition and Light Weapons had on October 18, impounded a lorry load of arms and ammunition in Onitsha, Anambra State.

The lorry was reportedly parked inside a compound in the city. But with the help of the police, the driver of the vehicle and the suspected importer were arrested.

It is believed that arms-build up was fuelling the violence in different parts of the country this year.

On January 17, clashes between Christians and Moslems in Jos, Plateau State, left at least 26 people dead, hundreds injured and thousands displaced.

In the same Jos, attackers wielding machetes and other dangerous weapons killed hundreds of people on March 7. A Plateau State official reportedly said the death toll could be more than 500, but police sources put it at 55.

In Warri, Delta State, two car bombs exploded some 200 metres away from the state Government House Annex, venue of a two-day post amnesty dialogue on March 15.

Similarly, there was a car bomb explosion along INEC Road in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital on May 2. The bomb exploded few metres away from a hotel belonging to the then deputy governor of the state, Mr. Peremobowei Ebebi.

Also, gunmen men in four speedboats attacked Ebebi’s home with improvised explosives, killing a private security guard on July 23.

On September 7, suspected members of an Islamic sect, Boko Haram, set the Bauchi Central Prison ablaze and freed members of the sect who were jailed in connection with the 2009 violence that rocked the state and some other states in the northern parts of the country.
http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20101027372145

These Iranians again?
Why is it that, they alway have their hands in all the world's trouble spots: Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen et al? 
Now Nigeria is next, may God have mercy!

Lets be ready!
Hezbollas and Al Qaida are already on ground!
God help 2011 election!

let's nuke em!. . .the whole damn Iran!

I think I wont be going home for the holidays.

violent:

let's nuke em!. . .the whole damn Iran!

We don't have nukes, this is the best we can do:

na2day!:

We don't have nukes, this is the best we can do:

^^^ Taa shut up.

Wetin u wan use nuke them? If push comes to shove the iranian military will under equiped nigerian military within 48hrs.

Just stick to d gist & stop making useless comments.

That was a clip from Saving Private Ryan. Great movie!

na2day!:

Lets be ready!
Hezbollas and Al Qaida are already on ground!
God help 2011 election!
               

Lets not jump the gun. There no such thing as al qaida.hezbolla is in lebanon. I doubt those rocket launchers even came from Iran. Also, if you are thinking it is for the use of the northerners then think again;the ammunition would have been smuggled through Niger or chad. I doubt the northerners are planning to attack SW with those weapons after OPC dealt with them brutally in the early 2000s.

violent:

let's nuke em!. . .the whole damn Iran!

Nigeria nuke Iran lol.With what? stones?

EzeUche0:

I think I wont be going home for the holidays.  

What do you mean?
Are u only an internet warrior?
Who's goin to do d fighting for you?
Abegii, better board the next Delta air to lagos and get ready to fight!  

na2day!:

What do you mean?
Are u only an internet warrior?
Who's goin to do d fighting for you?
Abegii, better board the next Delta air to lagos and get ready to fight!  

RUBBISH!

Fight in Lagos? No. . . Why would I fight in another man's land?

chyz1:

Lets not jump the gun. There no such thing as al qaida.hezbolla is in lebanon. I doubt those rocket launchers even came from Iran. Also, if you are thinking it is for the use of the northerners then think again;the ammunition would have been smuggled through Niger or chad. I doubt the northerners are planning to attack SW with those weapons after OPC dealt with them brutally in the early 2000s.

Nigeria nuke Iran lol.With what? stones?

@@ bolded
lol

na2day!:

What do you mean?
Are u only an internet warrior?
Who's goin to do d fighting for you?
Abegii, better board the next Delta air to lagos and get ready to fight!  

Northerners are bringing the fight to the SW. Or is it Ijaws?

Igbos will just sit back and watch.

gabng:

^^^ Taa shut up.

Wetin u wan use nuke them? If push comes to shove the iranian military will under equiped nigerian military within 48hrs.

Just stick to d gist & stop making useless comments.

hehe. . .all the Nigerian government need is a little arse licking and the Isareli military will be pledging support before you say nuke. .  .Iran will be history by dawn!

EzeUche0:

Northerners are bringing the fight to the SW. Or is it Ijaws?

Igbos will just sit back and watch.

here we go. . .the thread is about to be hijacked by tribal muppets!

violent:

here we go. . .the thread is about to be hijacked by tribal muppets!

Hush ewu. . .

What do you think a 2nd Nigerian Civil War would involve? That is the topic of discussion buffoon.

chyz1:

Lets not jump the gun. There no such thing as al qaida.hezbolla is in lebanon. I doubt those rocket launchers even came from Iran.

Havent u heard of the QUDS FORCE, The brain behind hezbollah, very soon if we are not careful we'll be seeing the nigerian hezbollah (Sorry, i forgot they already exist as BOKO HARAM!)

Using the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards as the main tool to export the revolution beyond the borders of Iran
The Quds 1 ( Jerusalem ) Force is one of five branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps , which is the strongest military-security body in the country and the regime's main support. The Quds Force is an elite unit numbering, as far as is known, several thousand. It was established at the beginning of the 1990s to help export the revolution beyond the borders of Iran , and became the main Iranian apparatus working secretly beyond its borders .
In line with Iran 's policy of exporting the revolution, the official missions of the Quds Force are the following :

A. Carrying out special activities along and beyond Iran 's borders.

B. Supporting terrorist organizations , the most prominent of which is Hezbollah in Lebanon (which also symbolizes the success of exporting the revolution).

C. Operating sleeper networks of terrorists and supporters in the Middle East and in countries throughout the world.

D. Providing military and financial support for Islamic opposition parties in the Arab-Muslim world.

E. Collecting intelligence.

F. Operating against Iranian opposition to the regime beyond Iran 's borders.

7. The Quds Force's missions have as their objective the advancing of the Iranian Islamic regime's strategic goals in two main categories:

A. Implementing Iran 's ideological-political doctrines , the most important of which are installing Iranian hegemony throughout the Arab-Muslim world, extending Shi'a over all Islam and continuing the campaign to destroy the State of Israel.

B. Destroying American supremacy and harming American interests in the Arab-Muslim world in general and the Middle East in particular, through subversion and terrorist attacks against the West and its allies, without, insofar as is possible, leaving Iranian footprints.

8. The Quds Force is aggressive in advancing its missions, particularly through the traditional use of secret military operations. In recent years the Quds Force exploited the democratic process the United States has tried to instill in the Middle East, using it to improve the status of the terrorist organizations (the “resistance”), the militias and radical Islamic groups supported by Iran . That is done by creating political tools which can be used to establish Iranian influence, and includes paying off supporters in the various Arab states. While doing so the Quds Force has been careful to hide the fact that its agenda is to further solely Shi'ite Islam, and it has attempted to get a foothold in Sunni populations as well.

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/iran_e0307.htm

EzeUche0:

Northerners are bringing the fight to the SW. Or is it Ijaws?

Igbos will just sit back and watch.

the  north cannot bring any fight to the SW. if it was them, they won't import weapons through lagos.

it can't be the yorubas because if it was them, they won't have gotten caught.

it can't be the igbos because i don't think they want to start another conflict.

so who is left

NAIJA WILL SURVIVE, . AMEN

jason12345,

The North can always bring the fight to the SW. Just look at what they were doing in Kwara and Ekiti State. It is only a matter of time in which they will make deeper inroads into the SW.

We Igbos would have went through Port Harcourt with our weapons. We have been stockpiling for years, but we wont attack first.

It could be the Ijaws, since they have had attacked Lagos in the past.

i think the right question is how many containers had slipped through?
how many people have armoury in their compounds now?
how may youths are ready to use all these weapons come 2011?

jason12345:

NAIJA WILL SURVIVE,  . AMEN

I pray so too o!
But back to reality: something must give, the status quo cannot continue like these.
But i'd have preferred dialogue!

na2day!:

i think the right question is how many containers had slipped through?
how many people have armoury in their compounds now?
how may youths are ready to use all these weapons come 2011?

TRUE!!!

EzeUche0:

jason12345,

The North can always bring the fight to the SW. Just look at what they were doing in Kwara and Ekiti State. It is only a matter of time in which they will make deeper inroads into the SW.

We Igbos would have went through Port Harcourt with our weapons. We have been stockpiling for years, but we wont attack first.

It could be the Ijaws, since they have had attacked Lagos in the past.

, and what happen to them in these two cities!!! what did opc do to them

about the ijaw thing, what did the yorubas tell them have they attacked since then

let me allow you to answer these questions.


p.s: igbos have been keeping weapons .


NIAJA FOREVER

Something tells me that the military will be involved very soon. Northerners in the military will try to take over.

They have to get through an Igbo man first. But if something happens to him. Redux of Nigerian Civil War.

OGA JONATHAN, Pls watch your back o!
IBB na demon o!
If he's prevented from eating, nobody will eat o!

jason12345:

TRUE!!!
,  and what happen to them in these two cities!!! what did opc do to them

about the ijaw thing, what did the yorubas tell them have they attacked since then

let me allow you to answer these questions.


p.s: igbos have been keeping weapons .


NIAJA FOREVER

Fulani herdsmen are still attacking Yorubas in their home states! I only seen OPC in action in Lagos. I might be ignorant of other OPC involvement though. . .  

It has only been 1 year since the Ijaws attacked Lagos. With the Ijaws, there reach can be felt as far as Abuja. I do not think the Ijaws fear anyone. Trust me, we Easterners know the Ijaws. They do not care how big you are.

And yes many Igbos have been keeping weapons. Just ask the Igbos up North. If the Northern hordes try to take our property, we will meet them with AK-47s. . The African weapon of choice.

na2day!:

I pray so too o!
But back to reality: something must give, the status quo cannot continue like these.
But i'd have preferred dialogue!

WHO WOULDN'T PREFER DIALOGUE

we all know it cannot continue like this. the suffering of my brothers and sisters in nigeria is too much!!! .

zoning was done to cheat the south!!! i mean, the north will spend 8 yrs in power before passing it to a yoruba man, then the north will do another 8 yrs before passing it to SS and it continues. who is the fool .

nigeria will not break up, what is happening is change!!! we cannot allow some old political viruses to hijack our future!!!
its now or never!!!

gen gen, the action film don start
steel your hearts folks,

EzeUche0:

Something tells me that the military will be involved very soon. Northerners in the military will try to take over.

They have to get through an Igbo man first. But if something happens to him. Redux of Nigerian Civil War.

^^^^^

Make una take am easy abeg

I suspect some of you left Nigeria in the 80s and still view Nigeria through the prism you saw it in those days.

I got news for you, the country has moved on since then and while it certainly still has challenges it has surely moved on.

The North will not take over anybody, they have no Army of their own.

Ihejirika being the CAOS is of no special consequence either for the Igbos because he is just the Nigerian Chief of Army Staff, it just happens that he is of Igbo Ethnic Origin. He is there to lead the Nigerian Army for all Nigerians, he is not their to get into some childish North vs South spat

I think folks just need to grow up!!!!!

Adamu Ciroma had promised chaos if the north is not allowed to rule:
We can all see where this is going!

mikeansy,

Only a fool will say that the house is not on fire, when it clearly is on fire. Instead of telling us to get some water, you are saying thins will be fine. Nigeria still looks through ethnic lens. Why do you think the Northerner politicians are acting that way.

As they say in America, "wake up in smell the coffee."