The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun 1 Area Command, said that during April and May, its agents seized 11, or 6,924 bags, of illegally imported parboiled rice from outside.
Two brand-new Toyota Hiace buses with the chassis numbers JTHN9CPOP6018610 and JTGHN9CP7P6019835 were also confiscated by the command as they were being smuggled into Nigeria via a bush route between Sawonjo and Imasayi villages in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
On May 15, 2023, three used luxury buses from outside that had been smuggled into the nation through the Ohumbe border were also captured.
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The controller of the Ogun 1 Area Command, Bamidele Makinde, disclosed this on Tuesday while addressing newsmen at the NCS office in Abeokuta.
Makinde disclosed that the command generated N34,174,105 within the period under review, which he said was 69% higher than the N10,615,618 generated in the corresponding period in 2022.
According to him, the command engaged in trade facilitation during the period by working with compliant traders and deliberating on how their business activities could be further enhanced “through our trade facilitation mechanism.”
He said recommendations and suggestions made during the engagements would be implemented, hoping that “this will lead to an increase in export trade, which would, in turn, contribute to increasing our revenue and national GDP.”
The customs boss listed other seizures recorded to include kegs of petrol, used tyres, cannabis and other prohibited items.
He put the total Duty Payable Value (DPV) of the seizures made in the two months at N335,855,989.
He appreciated sister security agencies’ cooperation, stating that “we have been able to achieve a great deal with their cooperation and teamwork.”
