…Intercepts expired, unregistered pharmaceutical products, frozen poultry products
The Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS has said that it has collected a total of One Trillion, Twenty Three Billion, Six Hundred and Sixty Three Million, Eight Hundred and Forty Two Thousand, Two Hundred and Fifty Five Naira, Sixty Three Kobo (N1,023,663,842,255.65) as revenue due to the federal government between the months of January and June 2024.
The Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu who disclosed this in a press briefing at the command headquarters in Lagos on Monday said that the amount showed an increase of 143 percent above the figures of Four Hundred and Twenty One Billion, Three Hundred and Eighty Two Million, One Hundred and Sixty Six Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy Eight Naira, Forty Six Kobo (N421,382,166,378.46) collected in the corresponding period in 2023.
Speaking on the secret behind this collection despite a sharp decline in the volume of trade, Olomu disclosed that extra measures had been put in place to prevent loss of government revenue.
According to him, “Upon taking over as Area Controller of Apapa, I set up a revenue recovery committee comprising of seasoned and dedicated officers with a mandate to carry out more detailed look into areas of leakages especially in bonded terminals under Apapa command.”
He further disclosed that the command within the period under review, made seizures of eleven (11) containers comprising of prohibited items such as expired and unregistered pharmaceuticals, footwears, used clothing, armoured cables, frozen poultry products among others with a cumulative Duty Paid Value of Four Hundred and Twenty Four Million, One Hundred and Five Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy Five Naira (N424,105,975.00) as against Forty Two (42) seizures with a Duty Paid Value, DPV of N1.4 Billion made in the corresponding period in 2023.
“It is pertinent to mention that just last week, we uncovered a large quantity of expired and unregistered pharmaceuticals in 3x40ft containers numbers TCKU 69281884, MRKU 4422733, MRSU 5550243 and another 3x40ft containers Numbers MNBU 3934925, MEDU 9107559 and MEDU 9752980 loaded with Seven Thousand, Five Hundred and Eighty (7,580) cartons of frozen poultry products unfit for human consumption which is against schedule 3 if the revised import prohibition list of the Common External Tariff (CET). These importations violate Section 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
“Let me state that the harmful effects of fake and unregistered pharmaceutical products in citizens are unquantifiable and as a responsible service, we owe Nigerians the duty of preventing them from being exposed to this dangerous importation.
“In the 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.
Consequently, in line with the CGC zero tolerance for smuggling, I have reformed the command’s way of treating transires by ensuring more meticulous management of cargo moving from the mother port to bonded terminals. This has become necessary to prevent a situation where smugglers attempt to perpetuate illegalities in bonded terminals.
“To sustain this tempo, no cargo is allowed to exit from our control without thorough inspection using the scanner. We shall not compromise on this as we will keep making seizures, detention and arrest where necessary to protect the national economy and prevent Nigerians from exposure to dangerous or unwholesome products like illicit drugs “, he stated.
On trade facilitation, the CAC maintained that the command was applying a blend of intelligence with community relations for better awareness of the service operating environment to achieve trade facilitation and fight criminality.
“I have a team of dedicated officers charged with the responsibility of addressing all complaints or disputes within record time before escalation to my office for prompt action.
“I don’t run an open door policy because for me, there is literally no door at all if you want to access my office. My office is open for everyone to discuss anything that will facilitate legitimate trade and promote government interest at all times, including receiving information on suspected smuggling activities”, he added.
Comptroller Olomu observed that the command was in touch with her sister agencies working like a team with shared responsibilities even as he commended the Nigeria Police, Department of State Services, DSS, NDLEA, NAFDAC, SON, NIS,NAQS, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and others for the support so far. “We made progress together and we will continue to collaborate in the national interest”, he said.
He, thereafter, appreciated the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and the entire management team for providing them with the needed support and leadership in discharging their responsibilities saying, “I want to thank the officers and men of the command for their resilience, our stakeholders for their support and urge that we continually work together to achieve a better second half for 2024.
“The contributions of our compliant importers, exporters, licensed customs agents, freight forwarders, members of the media and all other esteemed stakeholders is not going unnoticed. I commend you all.”
Photo 1: Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, Customs Area Controller, Apapa Customs Command addressing the Journalists during the press briefing in Apapa, Lagos Monday.
Photo 2 & 3: Some of the seized pharmaceutical products and frozen poultry products.
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