Apapa Customs collected N1tn in six months – Comptroller

The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area Command, said it collected N1.02tn worth of revenue between January and June 2024.

The Customs Area Comptroller in charge of the command, Babatunde Olomu, disclosed this on Monday while addressing journalists in Apapa, Lagos.

Olomu added that the figure represents an increase of 143 per cent when compared to N421bn collected by the command same period in 2023.

He said that the command recorded the revenue collection despite a sharp reduction in the volume of trade.

“It is necessary to note that extra measures have been put in place to prevent losses of government revenue,” he said.

The CAC stated that upon taking over as the area controller, a revenue recovery committee was inaugurated.

“The committee consisted of seasoned and dedicated officers with a mandate to carry out a more detailed look into areas of leakages, especially in bonded terminals under the command,” the CAC stated.

He said that within the period under review, the command intercepted 11 containers of prohibited consignments.

According to him, the items include expired and unregistered pharmaceuticals, footwear, used clothing, armoured cables, frozen poultry products, etc.

“These items have a duty paid value of N424m as against 42 seizures with a value of N1.4bn made in the corresponding period in 2023,” Olomu said.

The Apapa Customs boss mentioned that the command also uncovered a large quantity of expired and unregistered pharmaceuticals in six 40-foot containers with numbers, “TCKU 6928184, MRKU 4422733, MRSU 5550243, MNBU 3934925, MEDU 9107559 and MEDU 9752980,”

The CAC maintained that the containers were loaded with 7,580 cartons of frozen poultry products unfit for human consumption.

Olomu added that the imports were against schedule three of the revised import prohibition list of the Common External Tariff.

“These importations violate Section 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023,” he said.

Olomu maintained that the harmful effects of fake and unregistered pharmaceutical products on citizens are unquantifiable.

He noted that the service owes Nigerians the duty of preventing them from being exposed to this dangerous importation.

“In light of the above, I want to use this opportunity to sound a note of warning to perpetrators of smuggling, duty evasion, and other forms of criminality frowned upon by the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and other extant laws, that Apapa command is poised to nip illicit importation in the bud,” he said.

Olomu said that no cargo is allowed to exit from the port without thorough inspection using the scanner.

He vowed that the command shall not compromise on this, “as we would keep making seizures, detention and arrests where necessary to protect the national economy and prevent Nigerians from exposure to dangerous or unwholesome products like illicit drugs.”

“We are also not leaving anything to chance for economic saboteurs as our non-intrusive inspection regime is fully in place where scanners are deployed for cargo examination with support of physical examination where and when necessary,” Olomu stated.

He also said that his administration has reformed the way of treating transires by ensuring more meticulous management of cargoes moving from the mother port to bonded terminals.

This, according to him, has become necessary to prevent a situation where smugglers attempt to perpetuate illegalities in bonded terminals.