The CGC and his men taking a look at some of the seized items at the Customs warehouse.
Story by Dili N. Utomi.
The series of visits to the various Units and Commands under the Nigeria Customs Service by its Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi continued Friday with a stop at the Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’, Ikeja Lagos. The premises of the Unit as well as the surrounding warehouses were all beehive as the energetic Customs head took journalists through the slew of seized items with his lieutenants in tow.
The CGC had started the day with a visit to the Ogun II Command in Abeokuta, then moved to the PTML Command at Apapa with a final stop of the day at the FOU Zone ‘A’ Ikeja to address the matter of urgent significance to Nigeria’s economic well being.
The Customs boss in his address at the occasion said that eight trailer loads of foreign parboiled rice have been intercepted and seized by the Unit on October 6, 2023. His words “we are all aware of the fact that agriculture remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s economy, and it underscores the federal government’s commitment to achieving self sustaining growth and enhancing the quality of life of all Nigerians”.
‘Mountain’ of seized foreign parboiled rice at the warehouse.
“In aligning ourselves with this commitment and the spirit of patriotism, officers in Zone A executed a series of operations resulting in the interceptions and seizure of 7029×50 kilogramme bags of foreign parboiled rice during this period”.
CGC Adeniyi noted that the objectives of the operations of the Unit in carrying out this particular seizures were twofold, the first one was to discourage potential traders from engaging in smuggling activities and the second was to inflict maximum financial losses on smugglers.
The CGC addressing the press and flanked by his men.
Some of the other seizures made from September includes “35,100 liters of premium motor spirits, 1100 liters of diesel, 40 footer container carrying 360 bales of used clothes,1×40 foot container of 150 cartons of ladies handbags, 50 bales of knickers and a whole of other falsely declared items, 1×20 footer container of unprocessed woods,106 Cartons of foreign frozen poultry products, 55 pieces of used fridges, 110 pieces of used compressors, 148 cartons of foreign soap of absolute prohibition, 121 cartons of expired hair oil, 21 units of second hand vehicles. Investigations are ongoing on some of these seizures and we have in our custody 14 suspects in connections with the various seizures”.
The cumulative duty paid value of the intercepted goods amounts to One Billion, Seven Hundred and Fifty Seven Million, Eighty Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty Nine Naira (1,757,080,889.00) only
Accordingto the CGC, the unit generated Seventy Two Million, Eight Hundred and Seven Thousand and Twenty Five naira (72,807,025. 00) only through the meticulous documentary checks and issuance of demand notices on consignments that were found to have paid lesser amounts than the appropriate duties.
The Customs boss advised importers and licensed agents to make sincere declarations adhering to existing import and export guidelines and to avoid the risk associated with the loss on their investment. He added that compliance is not only a legal obligation, but also a strategic choice that ensures the smooth and efficient flow of goods across the border.
He congratulates the Customs Area Controller of the Unit and his men for the hard work and dedication and also thanked the press for the support that the Service enjoys from them.
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