JUST IN: U.S. court jails businessman for smuggling military-typed weapons, ammunition into Nigeria

Maryland Resident Sentenced to Over Five Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Transporting Firearms with Obliterated Serial Numbers and Smuggling Firearms to Nigeria

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett today sentenced Eric Fru Nji, age 42, of Fort Washington, Maryland, to 63 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy, for transporting firearms with obliterated serial numbers, and for smuggling firearms and ammunition from the United States to Nigeria. Judge Bennett also ordered Nji to pay a fine of $25,000. Nji was convicted of those charges on May 6, 2022, along with co-defendants Wilson Nuyila Tita, age 47, of Owings Mills, Maryland and Wilson Che Fonguh, age 41, of Bowie, Maryland, after a two-week trial.

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Special Agent…