By Stephen Ubanna
When Compt. Babatunde Olomu, Ph.D. Area Controller, Apapa Command, was nominated for the Comptroller General of Customs, CGC, special award for Customs Area Controller of the year 2024 by ACG Timi Bomodi, led Committee, he knew has a big task at hand: to justify why he deserves the award.
The Customs Comptroller appears to have succeeded in sustaining the drive of making the Apapa port ‘’the best in Trade Facilitation, and revenue generation’’, which had been recognized by industry stakeholders.
The Customs Comptroller, described in Customs circles as an anti-smuggling Czar, apart from being a revenue mobilizer, by blocking areas of revenue leakage, may have gone to the drawing the board to prove that he knows the Customs job: both as a revenue mobilizer and a world class- enforcement officer reenact his anti-smuggling operations tactics to make the premier port’’ a- no- go area’’ for fraudulent importers with their agents’ turned smugglers.
This is evident going by the number of’’40’’ Containers loaded with prohibited that had been intercepted and seized by the Command between January, 1st 2025 and August 10, 2025, which was said to have continuously drawn the attention of the CGC, to the Command, in Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve centre to showcase to the public, with a warning to the smugglers ‘’to desist from sabotaging the country’s economy and embrace genuine trade’’.
The latest of such smuggled goods concealed in Containers that was said to have fallen into the waiting hands of the Command enforcement officers at APM Terminal, APMT, loading bay described as one of the largest private terminals in the West and Central African subregions at various times between July 10, 2025 and August 10, 2025 was put at 16.
That much was confirmed by the CGC, in his speech during the presentation of the seized Containers found with the banned cargoes at the APMT, lading bay at the Apapa port. Given the importance attached to the event may have informed why other Area Controllers including Comptrollers Mohammed Salisu Shuaibu, Federal Operations Uni, FOU, Zone A, Lagos and Frank Okechukwu Onyeka, had abandoned their workload in their respective offices to be at the Apapa event to celebrate with their Counterpart who is dealing decisively with fraudulent importers turned smugglers.
CGC Adeniyi was emphatic that the Apapa Command had intercepted and seized 16 Containers laden with arms and ammunitions’’, which he had said are not allowed to be imported into the country by past and present Administrations
This is in addition to the seizure of expired pharmaceutical products, counterfeit goods and other banned food items. Two of the ‘’40’’ Containers, that were said to have been intercepted and seized by the Apapa Command, according to the CGC, had entered into the port on Sunday, August 10, 2025 but was closely monitored as it was found to contain -banned parmaceutical products.
The CGC, may have shocked Nigerians based on brief from the Apapa Area Controller, when he stated that initially the clearing agent of the importer’s Container No. MRSU6407089 was cleared to take delivery of the Consignment but later ‘’found through intelligence gathering and scanning’’ to contain 101 Kg of Colorado loud , a synthetic Cannabis Sativa imported from Canada, a neighbouring country to the North American country of the United States which are currently engaged in trade war .
One of the shocking discoveries of the Apapa Command at the APMT, loading bay was the 1,290 cartons of frozen poultry products in Container Numbers OERU4243517 and FBIU5507953.
The CGC, beaming with smiles had confirmed that Container No. ZZSU277511, was found to have been ‘’ loaded with 305 cartons of counterfeit toothpaste’’, concealed under beads and Jalabiya garments, described in Customs circles as a clear case of intellectual property infringement and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration, NAFDAC, regulation violations.
The CGC, may have sent a message to the importers with their foreign collaborators that there is no hiding for smugglers in Nigerian ports when he volunteered information that ‘’two-pump act rifles, 25 Cartridges, a Smith and Wesson pestle 55 rounds of ammunition and other arms accessories concealed in one of the Containers concealed were seized as well’’.
The Apapa Command preliminary investigations had shown that the two most recent ‘’40’’ Containers intercepted and seized by the Apapa Command were ‘’based on intelligence gathering were linked to the same smuggling syndicate that had brought into the country the earlier seized 14 other ‘’40’’ Containers at the APMT. Valuation experts had put the worth of the 16 Containers laden with cargoes intercepted and seized by the Apapa Command under the close watch of Compt. Olomu, at about N10 billion.
Despite using the different tactics of the regular smugglers at the nation’s land border areas and the involvement of the international criminal network to work with them, Compt. Olomu, described as a workaholic, in Customs circles was said to have continued ‘’to puncture their efforts’’ , thus giving the FOU, Zone A, personnel, who are strategically positioned locations around the Apapa-Mile II axis waiting in the wings to pick any of such Containers based on information appears to be to be idle.
It would be recalled that between January 1st, 2025 and April 30, 2025,the Command had made 11 interdictions, comprising of 5X’’40’’ Containers and 2X’’20’’ Containers including four other additional ‘’40’’ Containers which Valuation experts had put at over N920 billion, the highest seizures that had been made by any Customs Formation over the last 10 years while an additional 16 Containers was made in the second quarter of 2o25, thus bring the total Containers seizures by the Command between January to June 30, 2025 to 27, an interval of six months .
Add up to the 16 other Containers that had been intercepted and seized between July 10, 25 to August 10, 2025, brings the total figure of the number of Containers had been intercepted by the Apapa Command so far to 43.
Cumulatively, the total Duty Paid Value, DPV, of the Apapa Command Contraband between January 1st, 2025 and August 10, 2025, had been put at over N932 billion, yet to be rivalled by any other Customs Command, not even the FOUs, across the country.
. This is a big challenge to the other Area Controllers overseeing Customs Commands at the seaports within the Lagos ports and the South eastern ports of Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar. Compt. Mohammed Babandede, appears to have taken advantage of the state of emergency at the Onne port declared by the CGC, in 2024, to ensure that all Containers passing through the port are properly scanned as suspected ones are subjected to physically examination which was said to have resulted in spectacular seizures of Containers laden with expired and unregistered pharmaceutical products and expired food items.
Putting on the garb of an experienced officer who had seen it all, CGC. Adeniyi, may have given the Area Comptrollers room to deal decisively with the smugglers both at the seaports, airports and Land border areas when he disclosed last April at the Apapa port while showcasing intercepted and seized Containers to the public that the smugglers have resorted ‘’to carrying out their nefarious activities in Nigeria by going to countries with weaker pharmaceutical export controls to exploit the regulatory loopholes’’.
He may have alluded to Taiwan and other neighbouring countries of the Asian country of China, which manufactures more than 80% of the goods including pharmaceutical goods, sent to Europe and other parts of the world including Nigeria.
The CGC, who incidentally is the Chairman of the World Customs Organization, WCO, and his Management Tam, may have taken the bold initiative to separate the chaff from the weed as they move to increase the cost of operating licenses of clearing agents and bonded warehouse operators to N10 million.
The increase, an insider had told The Value News on line Magazine is to streamline Customs operations, improve efficiency and enhance security at the nation’s seaports, airports and land border areas across the country.
Meanwhile, Compt. Olomu, who is determined to contain the activities of the fraudulent importers turned smugglers and their clearing agents appears to have made a bold statement to revolutionize the Customs operations and Trade Facilitation drive at the Apapa port as he begins a comprehensive training program me for the clearing agents on the B’Odogwu platform, an indigenous technology which had replaces Nigerian Integrated Customs Information System, II, a foreign technology, managed by WEBB Fontaine, for the country’s import and export trade on behalf of the NCS, for years.
Compt. Olomu, who could not hide his feelings had said that the Service quest ‘’to modernize its operations, improve efficiency and foster a more seamless and transparent trade environment had informed the deision in equipping Freight Forwarders with the knowledge of the skills ‘’ to Navigate the B’Odogwu platform’’.
He may have gladdened the heart of the first set of Freight Forwarders who had benefited from the training programme when he stated that ‘’the Command, under his Leadership is not only enhancing digital literacy but also empowering stakeholders to fully leverage on the befits of the digitalized Customs process ‘’to ensure that their importers do the right thing by making honest declarations’’. Vintage Olomu.
