The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area Command, has disclosed that it collected N1.02trillion in revenue between January and June 2024.
The Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Babatunde Olomu, disclosed that on Monday while addressing journalists in Apapa, Lagos.
Olomu added that the figure represented an increase of 143 per cent when compared to N421bn collected by the command in the same period in 2023.
He noted 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 declared.
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 noted.
He disclosed that during the period under review, the command intercepted 11 containers of prohibited consignments.
According to Olomu, 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 against 42 seizures with a value of N1.4bn made in the corresponding period in 2023,” he remarked.
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 disclosed 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 3 of the revised import prohibition list of the common external tariff, noting that those importations violated section 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
He 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 explained that no cargo was allowed to exit from the port without thorough inspection using the scanner.
He vowed that the command would not compromise on that, as it 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 mentioned that he had reformed the way of handling transires by ensuring more precise management of cargoes moving from the main port to bonded terminals.
He added that the reform was necessary to prevent a situation where smugglers attempt to perpetuate illegalities in bonded terminals. (Punch)
