.Command made seizures worth N3.3B
ZAINAB JUNAID
The Controller, Murtala Muhammed Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Michael Toyin Awe has attributed the successful record of One Hundred and Forty-Four Billion, Two Hundred and Two Million, Five Hundred and Sixty-Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy Five Naira only (N144,202, 566, 975.00K) revenue between January and October 2024, to enhanced trade facilitation, improved stakeholder compliance and effective law enforcement.
Speaking on the activities of the Command on Wednesday, Comptroller Awe informed that the revenue and other successes made within the period under review emanated from interagency collaboration, efficient cargo clearance, intelligent risk management strategies and strategic resource deployed.
He also revealed that the Command implemented initiatives such as streamlined clearance procedures, enhanced cargo inspection and examination, improved intelligence gathering and sharing, collaboration with other security agencies, and regular stakeholder engagements to boost revenue collection, facilitate legitimate trade and curb smuggling.
To him, the Command will continue to deploy these initiatives as well as leverage on technology for efficient operations.
While comparing the revenue generated to that of 2023, Comptroller Awe noted that the figure recorded depicted a 94% increase from Seventy-four Billion, Two hundred and Eighty-six Million, Seven hundred and Seven Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-three Naira only (N74,286,707,443.00K) figure generated in the same period under review in 2023 thus showing a progressive difference of Sixty-Nine Billion, Nine Hundred and Fifteen Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Nine Thousand, Five Hundred and Thirty-One Naira Only (N69,915,859,531.00k).
Speaking further on anti-smuggling activities, the Command’s helmsman disclosed that intensified effort to combat illicit trade yielded positive results with a total Duty Paid Value, DPV, of Three Billion, Three hundred and Twenty-two million, Two hundred and thirty-nine thousand, Three hundred and Fifty-five Naira (N3,322,239,355.00K) between July and October 2024.
He listed the seized items to include-23 Pieces of Walkie Talkies; 175 Pieces of Military Helmets; 50 Pieces of Drones; 10 Packs of Canadian Cannabis Sativa; 250 pieces of Live Turtles; 7 Packages of 200mg & 225mg of Tramadol Hydrochloride; 1.5kg of Pangolin Scales; 0.2kg of Porcupine Pins, adding they contravened some of the provisions of the extant laws as contained in the Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCS Act) 2023.
Similarly, the Controller expressed appreciation to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi MFR and his management team for their unwavering support in carrying out official tasks effectively and also praised officers and men of his Command for their hard work and dedication towards achieving the great feat.
He equally gave adequate recognition to stakeholders, including importers, exporters and clearing agents for their cooperation, compliance to extant laws and also applauded the media for their continuous support and partnership in disseminating information to the public.
