By Stephen Ubanna
The last one month has witnessed an intense struggle by the Customs Comptrollers overseeing Commands to excel in revenue generation and anti-smuggling operations to win the heart of Bashir Adewale Adeni, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, who is in the good book of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a performer.
Comptrollers Babatunde Olomu led Apapa Command and Dera Nadi, his Counterpart at TinCan Island Command , appears to have maintained their track record as the highest revenue Commands of the service. That the Tin can Island had it the N1 trn revenue collection bracket in ten months to rival the Apapa Command, taking advantage of the all the support of the Comptroller General and his mentor speaks volume.
Even Comptrollers Tenny Daniyan, overseeing Port Multi-services Terminal Limited, PTML, in the south western state of Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve centre and Mohammed Babandede of Port HarHarcourt , II, Command, Onne, Rivers state are said to be making waves as well to maintain their track record of performing rea Controllers going by their records in the last 10 months.
Mohammed Yakubu, a Chief Superintendent of Customs and the PTML, Command spokesperson, may have shocked Nigerians when he stated recently at the instance of the Area Controller, that the Command collected and paid into the Federation Account the sum of N44 billion in the month of October 2024, the highest ever to be generated since the history of the Command in one month.
Much of the revenue was said to have been collected from vehicles into the port with the ban on the importation of vehicles into the country through the nation’s Land border Areas by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The huge revenue collection of the PTML Command in October was said to have pushed up its total revenue collection between January and November 8, 2024, to288. bn, representing an increase of 34.8% over the N213 bn, collected and paid into the Federation Account within the same period in 2023.
Although, the Command , may not be in the class of Apapa, Tincan Island or Onne, the terminal officers, who are acting out the script of the Area, to ensure that no prohibited Consignment or drugs enters into the country through Area, which is under its Jurisdiction at the Tincan Island port were said to have tightened up security .
Note that the security of the terminals superintended by the Command is more pronounced at the Vehicle terminals as the Area Controllers have at his finger tips what is happening at the terminals with the use of the Close Circuit Television in his office.
The detention and seizure of a ‘’40’’ Container , with registration number, ACLU9664782 and an additional 2,598, used pneumatic tyres, 12 used washing machines, six used fridges, eight used motor radiators, and 36 used rim covers speaks volume.
Also, the Command seizure of eight used rugs, two used mattresses and two bags of used clothes, shoes and bags may have sent a message to Nigerians in diaspora that it s no longer business as usual to bring anything into the country stocked into vehicles shipped into the country without loading it into Containers to pay the relevant duties.
Taking a cue from Compt. Olomu, who has made the Apapa port a no go area for Fraudulent importers with their agents the Kwara state born Area Controller , who not much is known about him in Customs Operations , was said to have intercepted another ‘’40’’ Container with registration number ACLU9810594 , which has said to have contained 91 bags of Premium parboiled rice , 18 bags of par boiled rice, and 18 kegs of Soyabean vegetable oil.
Other Contraband seizures that were said to have been impounded by the Command included various types of live ammunition, Cateridges, and firearms , discovered from imported used vehicles. This is inaddition to the seizure of Mada CX5,Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra and Lexus RX350.
The seizure of the Contraband items at the Terminal may have encouraged the ptml, Area Controller, who has the mandate of the Comptroller to prove that he can deliver, to have urged the officers to ‘’to remain Committed to serving the country diligently without compromise and to use the technology of modern Trade Facilitation tolls such as the newly launched ‘’Odogwu Platform , which is being piloted in the Command to ensure that the right thing is done.
Determined to ensure that the that the 24 hour cargo clearance for Compliant Roll On -Roll Off vehicles and Containers are sustained, as a way to maximize its daily, weekly and monthly revenue collection, particular, the remaining two months of 2024, the Customs Comptroller was said to have asked the officers at the terminals to be on the alert to detect Concealed goods in vehicles and Containers, cses of under declaration and false declarations to make terminal safe for genuine traders.
Enough of PTML. We turn to Onne port , where much appears to be happening in the areas of anti-smuggling operations tat it has continued to draw the atention of the Customs Comptroller General.
The Command had detained and intercepted 12 Containers Concealed with drugs through intelligence gathering , inter agency collaboration and meticulous physical examination at the port.
Recall that the security concern raised from the series of Contraband that had continuously being made in the Command over the last couple of months may have informed why the Customs Comptroller General had declared a three months state of emergency at the port . The three months state of emergy was said to have embolden the PortHarcourt, II, Area Controller to turn to fire brand to scrutinize all suspected containers , regardless of the importer or agent .
There is no gainsaying that the this proactive approach which is aimed at ensuring that illegal substances do not find their way into the country through the port have continued to be detected and seized as a lesson to other fraudulent and dubious importers.
Given an insider information of the seized Contraband at the south eastern port, the firebrand Banded, who was only running after the exporters at Lilipond Terminal at Ijora, as the then Area Controller, which many had described as not too too a challenging to him to prove his competence in doing the real Customs job of revenue generation, trade facilitation and Enforcement.
This may have encouraged him to use the Onne port that he can do the job in a bigger Command if given the opportunity to do so Compt. Bandede, who had said that ‘’in line with the Compt. General’s policy thrust of consolidation and collaboration with other relevant government agencies, the Command works closely with the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA National Agency for Food and Drug Administration, NAFDAC, , Department of State , DSS, Quarantine , among others in implementing the three months state of Emergency at the south eastern port, which had been yielding results.
The Command was said to have made another significant seizures a ‘’40’’ and one ‘’20’’ Containers laden with with illicit drugs, comprising of 2,624,053 bottles of 100ml cough syrup Codeine, 7,530,000 tablets of extra Diclofenac, 3,500,000 tablets of mg Tramadol Benzhexol, 27,048,900 tablets of 225mg of Roya Tapentadol/Tramadol/Tamolx,7,665000 tables of 200ml fake/counterfeit Gonrrhea antibiotics, without NAFDAC, number, and 15,600,000 tablets of fake 4mg Chlorphenamine.
This is in addition to 33,840,000 tablets of 2mg fake Lemotil Loperamine,,19,430 pieces of Chily Cutter used for Concealment, , 20,238 pieces of Sanitary Fittings Tap/ Toilet Seat used for Concealment, 26,400 tablets of 30mg of fake Permethrin cream,480,000 tablets fake Stapril M112 500 tablets of fake multivitamin Supplement , 28 drums of diphenhydramine Hydrochloride ip of 25Kg each, 3,338 pieces of waste connector used for Concealment. The Command may have shocked many with the seizure of Donkey skin, which was said to have been first seized by the Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone B, Kaduna, under the Close watch of Bello Ahmadu Shuaibu, overseeing the north western states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebi, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa and Kano and the north central states of Kwara, Niger, Benue, Plateau , and including Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT but the zeal may have died down.This may not be unconnected to the activities of the Bandits Group fighters, who are everywhere in the region smuggling Contraband into the country from the neighbouring Niger Republic through the forests with impunity.
Valuation experts had put the Duty Paid Value of the seized Contraband drugs and other items at N46,399,119,810.00 wile that duty that was said to have been paid on the donkey skin was only N4441,000,000, meaning that it much.
Appealing to the fraudulent importers with their agents to turn a new leaf and embrace genuine trade, Compt. Babandede, warned that those who contravenes the government Fiscal policy would continue to experience problem in the hands of officers and other security agencies personnel at the port.
The Customs Comptroller was said to have made it clear that ‘’Compliant importers and exporters of the country’s trade Laws have no cause to worry’’.
