The Oyo/Osun Area Command of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has made 126 seizures of smuggled goods through interceptions in the last seven months.
The Area Controller, Comptroller Babajide Jaiyeoba made this known on Wednesday at a press briefing held at the command headquarters, Customs Buiding in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Among the seized items were foreign parboiled rice, Tokunbo vehicles, second-hand clothing, bags and shoes, Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), used tyres, dry donkey skin, cannabis and vehicles used in conveying the smuggled goods.
The Comptroller put the total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the seized goods at N192,182,652 million.
He enumerated the seized goods as 4,217 50kg bags of parboiled rice, 914 kegs of 25-litre petrol, 40 bales and five sacks of used clothing, 17 Tokunbo vehicles, 167 pieces of used tyres, 13 sacks of used bags, a sack of used shoes, 69 sacks of dry donkey skin and 80 (42kg) wraps of cannabis.
He said that sacks of dry donkey skin were handed over to the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service along with two suspects and a means of conveyance for further action while waiting for approval to hand over the seized cannabis to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
Jaiyeoba disclosed that donkeys are endangered species, and trading in them contravenes Schedule 6 of the CETvand Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) (flora/fauna), which Nigeria is a signatory to.
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Comptroller Jaiyeoba also said that during the period in review, covering May to November, the area command generated N46,431,321,578.65 billion as revenue.
The Comptroller gave the total generated revenue as of November as N65,462,925,412.30 billion when added to the one generated between January and April.
Comparing it with the one generated in 2021, the Area Controller said that this year’s revenue surpassed it with N8,557,947,642.35k, representing an increase of 15.04 per cent.
He stated further that the area command also exceeded her revenue target for the year with almost N7 billion, representing 11.45 per cent increase.
The Comptroller said that the feat was made possible by his command’s resolve to enforce provisions of extant laws aimed at facilitating legitimate trade.
He expressed gladness on the appreciable compliance by excise traders operating within the command’s area of responsibility, as it had continued to enforce the provisions of 2022 Finance Act which brought some factories under excise control.
He attributed his command’s achievements to the timely sharing of intelligence and collaboration among all Customs units within Oyo and Osun states, especially their resilience and vigilance.
He also commended the collaborative efforts of other security agencies, including the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Services, NDLEA, Operation Burst, Amotekun and NAQS.
Assuring all stakeholders and legitimate business owners of maximum cooperation to facilitate their trade, Jaiyeoba warned smugglers aiming at sabotaging the economic development of Nigeria to steer clear of the command’s territory.
He added that the area command would continue to deploy all available resources, in accordance with all extant laws, to frustrate and bring to justice all lawbreakers.
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