…Rakes in over N45.2 billion in first quarter of 2024
The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS,Murtala Mohammed Airport command has intercepted fifty (50) pieces of 9mm ammunition, One Thousand, One Hundred and Sixty Four Kilograms (1,164kg) of sea cucumbers, Fifty Eight Kilograms (58kg) of donkey genitals and seventeen packages (17) of Tramadol.
The Customs Area Controller of the command, Comptroller Mohammed Sani Yusuf who disclosed this at a press briefing at the command’s headquarters in Lagos on Monday, explained that the fifty (50) pieces of 9mm live ammunition was discovered in a joint examination conducted by the Service and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Yusuf put the cumulative Duty Paid Value, DPV of other items intercepted by the command in the first quarter of 2024 at Five Billion, seven hundred and ninety four million, ninety nine thousand, three hundred and seventy one naira and one hundred and nonteen kobo only (5,794,099,371.119k).
According to the Controller, all the seized items contravened some of the provisions of extant laws as enshrined in the Nigeria Customs Service Act, NCS Act 2023.
Throwing more light on the sea cucumber, the Controller noted that although the items looked more like the cucumber known to Nigerians, they are animals mostly found in water bodies. Informing that the items were brought in from Bayelsa area, he explained that they were being harvested by Chinese and other nationals who work in water bodies around the country.
“So, automatically, these are animals, look like cucumber and I am sure it has medicinal value but for those in China and may be the rest of them. We seized it because, actually, exportation of these items are not prohibited but it requires a permit and since they don’t have a permit, of course, we have to intercept it. Even the owners do not know that they needed a permit but in accosting them, we told them that they needed a permit. Since they could not produce a permit, definitely, we have to arrest the items.
“For us, nobody will eat these things because it even has a pungent smell but for them, it’s edible, they use it, it’s food for them and from what we got, the ones they have in their water bodies have depleted, so they have to look for it elsewhere”, he explained.
On revenue collection, he observed that despite some challenges, Murtala Muhammed Airport Command had surpassed its records for the first quarter of 2024 compared to what was collected the previous year.
“In the first quarter of 2023, the Command collected Twenty-One Billion, Three Hundred and Sixty-Two Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty-Two Thousand, Six Hundred and Seventy-Six Naira, Forty-Four Kobo (21,362,752,676.44K) while in the corresponding period of 2024, the Command recorded Forty-Five Billion, Two Hundred and Thirty-Two Million, Four Hundred and Eighty-Three Thousand, Five Hundred and Twenty-Eight Naira (N45,232,483,528) only.
“This represents an appreciable increase of Twenty-Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Thirty Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty-One Naira and Fifty-Six Kobo (N23,869,730,851.56K) only indicating 111.7% increase”, he stated.
In stakeholders’ engagement, the CAC maintained that the Command had maintained its open-door policy and resolved a lot of issues of common interest with concerned stakeholders saying, “Let me also at this juncture thank our critical stakeholders, sister agencies and the media for their collaborative efforts and synergy while carrying out our statutory mandate in the state.”
He equally thanked the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and his management team for their continued support as well as officers and men of the command.
“I urge them to remain focused and steadfast in discharging their assigned responsibilities”, he added.
Photo: Comptroller Mohammed Sani Yusuf, Customs Area Controller, Murtala Mohammed Airport Command showcasing the sea cucumbers to the Journalists during a press briefing at the command headquarters in Lagos on Monday.
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