Suspected smugglers were intercepted by the Oyo/Osun Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, leading to the seizure of a total of 35,425 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, being smuggled out of Nigeria.
The litres comprised of 101 drums of 200 litres each and 609 kegs of 25 litres each with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N1,975.6 million.
The Customs Area Controller in charge of the area command, Babajide Jaiyeoba also disclosed that it has generated N8,069,497,949.04 billion as revenue.
Briefing journalists on Thursday, March 10, 2022, at the command headquarters in Ibadan, Oyo State, Comptroller Jaiyeoba said that interception and seizures were made from the day of his assumption of office on February 17 till date.
A suspect was arrested, according to him, and had been granted bail.
The seizures, aside the smuggled petrol, included seven used vehicles with Duty Paid Value of N11.745 million, 548 bags of 50kg imported parboiled rice worth N9,644.8 million and 355 pieces of used tyres with value of N2.13 million.
Others were 57 bales of used clothing worth N6.84 million, five sacks of used shoes with N300,000 as value, a sack of used bags worth N60,000 and 10 cartons of compressors with duty paid value of N378,000, all totalling N34.851 million.
Jaiyeoba said that the efforts of the Comptroller General to suppress smuggling through the provision of needed equipment and operational vehicles had made the realization of the area command’s mandate possible.
Comptroller Jaiyeoba also attributed the area command’s achievements to the timely sharing of credible and effective collaboration and synergy among the Customs Intelligence Unit, Federal Operations Unit of Zone A, the Strike Force Team of the Comptroller General of Customs, Joint Border Patrol, as well as the resilience and vigilance of the officers and men of the command.
He also praised the efforts of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Department of State Services, Operation Burst and Amotekun Corps for their synergy with the area command to fight smuggling.
In addition , he commended the traditional rulers, local government chairmen, community leaders and the good people of Oyo and Osun states for creating enabling environment for the officers to carry out their duties.
Assuring the general public that his command would not relent in its efforts to fight smuggling to a standstill, the Comptroller warned the lawbreakers to steer clear of the area command, as it would never serve as a safe haven for them.
The Comptroller assured that the command under his watch would maintain zero tolerance for smuggling bearing in mind its negative implication on the growth of the economy.
