•Sieze smuggled goods worth N383.4 million
Oyo/Osun Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has recorded success in revenue generation, as it has collected the sum of N4,895,772,769.90 billion as duties in January 2021.
This was disclosed by the Area Comptroller, Adamu Abdulkadir on Thursday, February 4, 2021, during a press briefing held at the command headquarters in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Speaking on the activities of the area command in anti-smuggling and revenue generation, Abdulkadir said that the feat was achieved through expertise, meticulousness and sense of observation by its excise officers.
The Comptroller also said that between November 19, 2020 and January 31 this year, the command arrested two suspects in connection with smuggling, as well as made seizures, totalling N383,420,494 million on Duty Paid Value (DPV).
Among the items seized from smugglers are 3,052 bags of foreign parboiled rice with duty paid value of N124,477,488 million, 60 bales of used clothing valued at N15,030,143 million and 246 pieces of used tyres valued at N2,698,866 million.
Others are eight units of Toyota Camry (2020 model) valued at N211,541,320 million, a used Toyota Highlander (2019 model) valued at N33,710,363 million, 10 units of motorcycles, used as means of conveying smuggled bags of rice, valued at N1,219,000 million and eight kegs of 25-litre vegetable oil valued at N217,251.
The Command was also said to have made seizures of 220 25-litre kegs of Premium Motor Spirit, known as petrol, which Abdulkadir said would be auctioned with approval from Customs headquarters, while the proceeds would be remitted accordingly and accounted for.
Through eagle-eyed operatives, the command, according to the Comptroller, also got cannabis sativa packed in a 20-kilogramme bag with duty paid value of N4,526,063 million.
He said that subsequently, the illicit drug would be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Abdulkadir also told journalists that within the period mentioned, a used Mercedes Benz ML350 (2014 model) was impounded and placed in custody, pending the provision of Customs documents.
He noted that the achievements recorded was made possible by the experience, resilience and vigilance of the Area Comand Officers, adding that they had given their best that showed that being enlisted into the Nigeria Customs Service was well-deserved.
Abdulkadir acknowledged the assistance and contributions of the Customs Intelligence and Federal Operations Units, Strike Force, Customs Policeand Joint Border Patrol in the achievements made by the Area Command.
Praising the efforts of sister agencies such as the police, Department of State Services, Nigerian Army, Oyo State’s Operation Burst and Amotekun Corps, the Comptroller also acknowledged the contributions of stakeholders, traditional and community leaders in providing enabling environment for officers to function properly.
He disclosed that the Area Command, under his management, had commenced an operation, code named ‘Operation Fish Out’ through the invocation of Sections 147 and 151 of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) Cap C45 LFN 2004, which gives operatives power to search premises for goods not customed, and to reward informants with genuine intelligence.
He said that this was to enhance its anti-smuggling strategies by taking the battle to the doorsteps of the smugglers, rather than waiting for them to come out.
He said: “We shall sharpen our intelligence and enforcement capabilities to fight smuggling, and enforce compliance with reference to extant laws guiding our procedures and rules of engagement.
“We shall deploy all our strength and available logistics to ensure success in the battle against those who like to dare the capability of officers of the area command. Oyo and Osun States will be made unbearable for economic saboteurs.”
He also shed light on Sections 158 and 167 of the Customs and Excise Management Act Csp C45 LFN 2004, which allows Customs officers to freely patrol across Nigeria.
The Sections, he added, also made provision for detention , seizures and confiscation of goods which fail to conform with the rules guiding importation, exportation or local production of such goods.
Abdulkadir warned people perceived to be on the side of the smugglers by revealing Customs officers’ movement and action to them, saying that they would be tracked, apprehended and prosecuted in accordance with Section 77 of the CEMA for signals sent to smugglers.
Commending the area command operatives who, according to him, had been unrelenting and uncompromising in the face of challenges, Abdulkadir reiterated his warning that the long arms of the law would catch up with those trying to test the resolve of the command to prevent smuggling under its watch.
The Comptroller assumed duty in the Area Command in November 2020.
