*Hails Apapa Command
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has emphasized that the nation’s ports must serve lawful commerce, industrial growth, leading to prosperity of the country.
He expressed this, at a press briefing unveiling
seizures recorded at the Apapa Area Command, on Thursday September 10, 2026.
“Let me also commend the officers and men of the Apapa Area Command for the vigilance and professionalism that produced these results, and I thank the NDLEA, NAFDAC and our international partners for their cooperation. Our ports must serve
lawful commerce, industrial growth and the prosperity of this country.
“They must not serve as transit points for narcotics, for controlled drugs, for equipment that threatens our security, or for goods that endanger the health of Nigerians,” he said.
He assured that the service will continue to hold that line, and they ask the public and the trading community to hold it with them.
The CGC said that the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023 charges the service with more than the collection of revenue.
” It places on us the security of the supply chain, the protection of the border and the safety of what enters this country. Revenue is the part of our work that is counted publicly each quarter. The other part is measured in what never reaches the street, and it is that part I am reporting today.
“This administration has approached national security as a whole-of-government undertaking, in which each institution holding a piece of the problem is expected to
act on it and to act with the others.
“The seaport is where several of those pieces meet. Narcotics, controlled pharmaceuticals, restricted equipment and unsafe goods arrive in the same containers, through the same agents, under the same false declarations, and they are frequently handled by the same syndicates. What has changed in recent years is the method. Concealment is now built into otherwise legitimate consignments.
“Narcotics are packed among vehicle spare parts and used vehicles. Controlled drugs
travel beneath household goods. Restricted equipment is declared as ordinary electronics. A container of that kind will pass an untargeted inspection without difficulty, not as a targeted one,” he said.
According to him, the service has therefore, spent this period building the means to target.
“We have strengthened cargo profiling and risk assessment across the commands, deployed the B’Odogwu platform to bring trade data into that assessment, and in July established an INTERPOL Data Centre at our Headquarters in Abuja, the 8th on the African continent giving officers access to more than 152 international databases.
“Alongside this, we have deepened operational cooperation with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NAFDAC, the Office of the National Security Adviser and our international security partners.
” It is against that background that I present the outcome of sustained intelligence led operations at the Apapa Area Command. A total of containers have been intercepted,” he explained.
Explaining further, he said that their contents fall into three categories, each carrying a consequence well beyond the port. Narcotics and controlled pharmaceuticals, security-sensitive equipment, and expired goods intended for human use.
“The total duty paid value of the seizures is Forty-Three Billion, Five Hundred and Eighty-Eight Million, Six Hundred and Eighteen Thousand, Eight Hundred and Fifty Nine Naira (₦43,588,618,859.00).
“For the public record, the items presented today are as follows:
“HAMU 3086682. 1 x 40ft. 4,777 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 2,388.5kg, packed in 2 cartons, 48 jumbo bags and 40 drums; assorted automobile spare parts; one carton of coffee mix; 8 cartons of oats; and three vehicles.
“FANU 1933352. 1 x 40ft. 8,287 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 4,145kg, packed in 162 bags; and three vehicles.
“MSKU 3941778. 1 x 20ft. 2,181 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 1,090.5kg, packed in 5 cartons; 148 bags of foreign parboiled rice; assorted automobile spare parts; 2 boxes of lithium batteries; 1 carton of PV combiner box; 19 cartons of turmeric; 33 cartons of mangala fish; and 11 cartons of butterfly fish.
“TCKU 7653306. 1 x 40ft. 1,700 cartons containing 169,998 bottles of codeine syrup, concealed under household items.
“MSKU 9282528. 2 cartons containing 108 units of high-definition dual camera drones, extracted from the container.
“MRKU 6185100. 1 x 40ft. 425 bales of used clothing.
MRKU 5535966. 1 x 40ft. 435 bales of used clothing.
SEKU 4685299. 1 x 40ft. 422 bales of used clothing.
“SUDU 7593139. 1 x 20ft. Fully loaded with expired tomato ketchup.
“PCIU 2834954. 1 x 20ft. Fully loaded with expired antiseptic liquid.
“ZCSU 8749546. 1 x 40ft. Fully loaded with expired vaginal tablets.
“PONU 7890827. 1 x 40ft. Fully loaded with expired disposable
nappies.
“MSKU 1524590. 1 x 40ft. Fully loaded with expired disposable
nappies.
“The 3 narcotics containers together held 15,245 parcels of cannabis sativa weighing 7,624kg, rather more than 7½ tonnes. The used clothing amounted to 1,282
bales,” he informed.
The Comptroller General said that the abuse of prohibited substances like codeine among young Nigerians has been the subject of national concern for years, and its connection to violent conduct,
to family breakdown and to the loss of productive lives is well documented.
” A single container of this size would have supplied that trade for a considerable period.
“The cannabis interceptions are the product of inter-agency work with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, supported by credible intelligence from international security partners. That intelligence was analysed and acted upon here, through cargo profiling, documentary scrutiny and targeted examination by officers of
this Service. I thank the NDLEA and our international partners for their cooperation.
“We also extracted 108 units of high-definition dual-camera drones from an intercepted container. Drones have lawful uses, and this Service has no quarrel with them. But equipment of this kind, in the wrong hands, becomes a means of surveillance, of reconnaissance and of delivery, and our security agencies have already met it in that role in the field.
“Let me be plain with importers. Restricted and security sensitive equipment requires the appropriate security approvals, end-user certificates and documentation before clearance.
“Consignments of that character that arrive without them will be detained. Our ports will not be a route through which capability reaches those who are working against the security of this country.
“Five containers were loaded with expired tomato ketchup, antiseptic liquid, vaginal tablets and disposable nappies. These are products applied to the body and
consumed by households. Their importation after expiry places children, women and
other consumers at risk of harm they have no means of detecting at the point of purchase.
“The seized items will be handed over to the relevant narcotics agencies for further action and closure, at the same time, the public is encouraged to go on with
their legitimate activities and be rest assured that Customs will continue to ensure continued and quick movement of legitimate trade. Scrutiny will fall on the consignments, transactions and operators that present identifiable risk.
“To those engaged in false declaration, concealment, undervaluation or the importation of prohibited goods, the position is straightforward: no port, border station or logistics channel will be permitted to serve as a safe haven.
“Compliance is available, and it is cheaper than the alternative. Importers uncertain of the treatment of a product should use the Advance Ruling mechanism to
obtain the Service’s position on classification, valuation and origin before shipment, not after arrival. Operators with a sustained record of compliance should join the Authorised Economic Operator programme, which offers more predictable clearance and fewer interventions where the risk assessment justifies it.
“Compliance is not an obstacle to business; it is an advantage over competitors who lack it,” he advised.
He commended the media for the part they play in placing the work of the Nigeria Customs Service before Nigerians.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Customs Area Controller, Apapa Area Command, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba said that the command is committed to the vision of the Comptroller General.
“At the Apapa Area Command, we remain committed to the policy direction and vision of the Comptroller-General of Customs. We shall continue to uphold professionalism, discipline, integrity and diligence in the discharge of our statutory responsibilities, while supporting all initiatives aimed at facilitating legitimate trade and safeguarding Nigeria’s national interest,” he said.