By Stephene uBanna
When Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Launched B’Odogwu Platform, an indigenous technology developed by the service with the support of the Asian country of China based Huwei Technologies firm, which currently had 20 years technical agreement with the institution, last March at Apapa Command, many knew that fraudulent importers and smugglers’ problems have just begun.
True to their claims, the deployment of the Unified Customs Management System, UCMS, Trade Portal, Economic Cargo Tracking System, ECTS, Cargo Release System, Enforcement System Telecommunication, Video Surveillance and Connectivity, among others, appears to have sent jitters down the spines of the merchant of death importers and smugglers at the port.
The implementation of the ECTS, and Video Surveillance system components of the newly developed indigenous technology, which had replaced Nigerian Integrated Customs Information System, NICIS, operated by Webb Fontaine, for Customs operations appears to have exposed the activities of the fraudulent importers and smugglers who uses the port to ship dangerous drugs into Nigeria and other contraband items including stolen vehicles to Nigeria may have strengthened the resolves of Compt.Babatunde Olomu, ‘’to make the premier port a no- go area for fraudulent importers and smugglers. He got it right.
Barely one month after Adeniyi, the CGC, showcased the over N920 billion Contraband goods comprising of unregistered Pharmaceutical items, expired food items , drones and telecommunication facilities which had no End User Certificate, EUC, that ought to have been obtained from the office of the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, under the close watch of Nuhu Ribadu, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, rtd and who incidentally was a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the story is different .
Compt. Babatunde , Olomu, described in Customs circles as a revenue mobilizer and anti-smuggling Czar, had made history again in daily revenue collection and anti-smuggling operations. Which had positioned the Command as ‘’unbeatable in its operations’’.
Giving an insider information, an elated Compt. Olomu, had confirmed that it had collected a daily revenue of N18.919 billion, which was said to haven collected and paid into the Federation account on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, which maritime analysts had said are much higher than the monthly revenue collections of some Area Commands across the country.
‘’Our chronicle of outstanding revenue collection speaks for us and attests to our capacity to do more’’, he had said. The Customs Comptroller, described as revenue mobilizer in Customs circles had alluded the Command’s October 2024, revenue collection of N18.2 bn, in October 2024, barely six months in office and the N18.9 bn, recorded in March 14, 2025.
. The Command could collect that much revenue in one day of its revenue collection because it had ‘’successfully blocked all areas of revenue Leakage’’ and could easily decipher with ease ‘’false declarations and Concealment of contraband in Containers which are promptly tackled.
The Apapa Command Customs Area Controller may have gladdened the heart of Nigerians when he stated on Thursday, May 22, 2025, that the Command had crossed the one trillion collections bracket even when the trading month of May, 2025, still have about eight -days to go, meaning that the Command will surpass by wide margin its revenue target for the month. The Apapa Area Controller was emphatic that the Command so far had collected and paid into the Federation account, N1.094 trn, s at May 22.
For the 2025, Fiscal year, the Federal Government had given the NCS, a revenue target of N6.58 trn, which was said to haven allocated to the Commands, based on their capacity with the Apapa, Command getting the highest and quickly followed by Tin-can Island Command while Port Harcourt Ara II, Command, Onne and Port Multi-services Terminal Limited, PTML and others follow.
Perhaps, one area that the Apapa Command appears to have made a landmark in the recent time at the port was in anti-smuggling operations. A no nonsense Compt. Olomu, appears to have given the fraudulent importers and smugglers a cause to worry at the port when he stated on assumption of duties in May 2024, that ‘’why the Command facilitates trade, collect revenue for government ‘’the NCS, particular, Apapa Command under his Leadership ‘’owe the Nigerian people a duty of protecting them from dangerous imports that are injurious to their health and well-being’’.
It was not surprising why the Command had continued making contraband seizures at the port, between May 2024 and now, an indication that ‘’the Apapa port is a no-go area for any unlawful activities as the officers’’ had been properly trained on the handling of the B’Odogwu Platform ‘’to uncover concealments and effect seizures and arrest where necessary’’.
Indeed, Compt. Olomu’s determination, ‘’to make Nigerians vulnerable to selfish interests of merchants of death whose stock in trade is to bring harmful substances like tramadol, codeine syrups and other dangerous drugs into the country may have strengthened his resolve to ensure that no such drugs and other prohibited items enter into the Nigerian market through the port under his watch.
The recent interception and seizure of five ‘’40’’ Containers, grouped into three different categories based on their contents speaks volume. the first two of the intercepted ‘’40’’ Containers were found have contained prohibited drugs which may have informed why it was placed on the category 1 list.
One of the Containers on the category 1 list, with Registration No. SUDU 4846204, w was found to have contained 1,690 cartons of Codeine syrups ‘’concealed in toilet seat’’ while the second Container with Registration No. SUDU, 8685733, contained 1,698 of RTPL CSC Cough syrups with codeine neatly ‘’concealed in 202 packages of water closet’’.
An informed source had said that the two ‘’40’’ Containers on the Category 1, list, was intercepted and seized by the Command Enforcement Team working closely with officers and men of the Nigerian Drug Lw Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, under the Chairmanship of Buba Marwa, an Army Brig. General, because of alleged international collaboration
On the category 2 list, was a ‘’40’’ Container with Registration No. ONEU 3258823, which was found to have contained 584 packages of Glo bath anti-marks & 30g Clobetasol cream that was said to have been falsely declared by the importer as ‘’Truck Tyres’’, going by the information contained in the Bill of Lading that was said to have been presented by the agent to process the clearing of the Consignment
The second Container on the category 2, list, according the Apapa Area Controller was another ‘’40’’ Container with Registration Number ,MRSU 258823, and which was said to have been loaded with such drugs as Rabeprazole for injection, 25mg Zahfranil tablets, 100mg vancomycin hydrochloride, cyproheptadine with vitamin B complex and other pharmaceutical products, , without National Agency for Food and Drug Administration, NAFDAC, registration No. but was said to have been falsely declared as kitchen wears and table, which was said to have contravened the government Fiscal policy.
The Value News online Magazine findings shows that the seized ‘’40’’ Containers on the categories one and two list, which were found to have contained drugs, other pharmaceutical products and Contraband items, though manufactured from the Asia country of China, may not have been shipped to Nigeria from the Asian country but through another country with less stringent import and export policies.
On the category 3 list of the intercepted and seized Containers by Compt. Olomu, led Apapa Command, was a ‘’40’’ Container, with Registration No. MRKU 0904594, which was said to have contained two exotics stolen vehicles from Canada.
One of the seized stolen vehicles was a 2024 model Lexus RX450 with Chassis Number JTJCJNGA6R2017707 while the second intercepted and seized stolen vehicle that was shipped to Nigeria on the same Container was a Lexus RX350 with Chassis Number 2T2BAMCAPCO32741, falsely declared as food items. The second Container, with Registration No. SEKU 4716830 on the category 3 list, was said to have contained 39 Bales of used clothing which was said to have contravened the country’s, 2025, import Prohibition Law.
Valuation officers were said to have put the value of the intercepted and seized ‘’40’’ Contents and their contents on the category I, category II, list and the category III list, at N3.247 billion.
Not many were surprised at the impressive performance of the Apapa Command under the Leadership of Compt. Olomu, over the last four months and 22 days into the month of May, 2025, because of its outstanding records in 2024, which was said to have earned it ‘’the Service Best Command in Revenue Generation, Trade Facilitation, Ports’’, while Compt. Olomu, who oversees the Apapa Command operations had clinched the 2024, Best Area Controller of the year Award beating others to it. This may have informed why the Apapa area Controller had sustained the impressive records.
Vintage Compt. Olomu.
