NCS Kwara Generate #7.9 billion revenue,sexied 2025 Toyota Highlander, rice and other smuggle items
PRESS BRIEFING BY THE CUSTOMS AREA CONTROLLER, NIGERIA CUSTOMS SERVICE, KWARA AREA COMMAND
It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you once again to the Kwara Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service. I extend my sincere gratitude for your presence and for your unwavering partnership in promoting transparency, public accountability, and national development.
Since assuming duty as Customs Area Controller on 17 December 2025, this marks my fourth press engagement. We have consistently utilized this platform to provide factual, transparent updates on our operations specifically our resolute efforts to suppress smuggling, facilitate legitimate trade, protect federal revenues, and safeguard national security.
At our previous briefings, I maintained that the Kwara Command would never become a safe haven or transit corridor for illicit cross-border trade. That stance remains uncompromising. Our officers maintain an active, vigilant presence across all identified channels and vulnerable corridors, driven by actionable intelligence, robust patrol operations, and seamless synergy with sister security agencies.
CLARIFICATION ON FOOD SECURITY AND BORDER ENFORCEMENT
I must address an important narrative regarding our interception of food items. The seizure of food products should not be misinterpreted as an opposition by the Nigeria Customs Service to legitimate food availability for Nigerians. Rather, our mandate is to enforce compliance with the laws governing cross-border trade. When goods are moved through unapproved routes, bypass regulatory checks, or lack proper documentation, the Service is legally mandated to intervene.
The illegal influx of foreign food products through porous borders undermines Federal Government policies aimed at boosting local agricultural production, protecting domestic investments, and safeguarding our local value chain. Our enforcement actions ensure that compliant, legitimate traders are not priced out by economic saboteurs who bypass established protocols for unlawful gain.
*SUMMARY OF SEIZURES
6. Today, we present Eight (8) distinct seizures intercepted across various operational corridors within the Command:
• Eighty (80) bales and Six (6) sacks of Used Clothing intercepted along the Ogbomoso/Jebba axis | DPV: ₦32,300,000.00
• 6,875 Litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) intercepted along the Bukuro/Okuta/Chikanda axis | DPV: ₦2,750,000.00
• 3,396 Packets of Tramadol (100mg) intercepted along the Okuta axis | DPV: ₦50,946,000.00
• Fourteen (14) bags of Basmati Rice (5kg each) intercepted along the Bode-saadu Expressway | DPV: ₦350,000.00
• 6,705 Cartons of Foreign Spaghetti intercepted along the Bode-Saadu axis | DPV: ₦201,150,000.00
• 270 Bags of Foreign Parboiled Rice (50kg each) intercepted across various locations | DPV: ₦25,245,000.00
• One (1) Toyota Highlander (2025 Model) intercepted along Bode-saadu Expressway | DPV: ₦214,000,000.00
• One (1) Dodge Charger SXT (2018 Model) intercepted Lagos/Kwara highway Eyankorin | DPV: ₦77,592,592.00
7. Total Combined Duty Paid Value (DPV): ₦604,333,592 (Six Hundred and Four million, Three hundred and Thirty-Three Thousand, Five hundred and Ninety-Two).
*OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS & ANALYSIS*
8. These interceptions reflect the dynamic nature of cross-border criminality. Smugglers continuously alter tactics ranging from diverting critical energy resources like PMS to trafficking dangerous pharmaceuticals and uncustomed luxury vehicles.
9. Pharmaceutical Threat: The seizure of 3,396 packets of Tramadol (100mg) valued at over ₦50.9 million highlights the critical role of border security in public health. Unregulated entry of controlled substances poses severe risks to national security and public safety.
10. Petroleum Product Diversion: Intercepting 6,875 litres of PMS guards against the illegal siphon of strategic national supplies meant for domestic consumption into illicit border markets.
REVENUE GENERATION,
11. Excise activities continue to serve as our primary revenue driver. During the period under review, the Command generated a total revenue of ₦7,978,338,031.21 (Seven Billion, Nine Hundred and Seventy-Eight Million, Three Hundred and Thirty-Eight Thousand, Thirty-One Naira, Twenty-One Kobo).
12. This milestone demonstrates our commitment to maximizing revenue for the Federal Government while maintaining a balanced operational focus on trade facilitation and national security.
*INTELLIGENCE-LED ENFORCEMENT & COLLABORATION*
13. Our achievements are rooted in intelligence-led operations. I commend the Command’s Intelligence Unit and Customs Police Unit particularly acknowledging the enhanced momentum under its new leadership as well as the resilient officers and men of the Kwara Area Command for their dedication across vast and challenging terrains.
14. We extend our deep gratitude to our sister security agencies. Trans-border crime cannot be fought in isolation; inter-agency cooperation remains central to our tactical execution.
15. I express my profound appreciation to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, for his strategic direction and constant support to the Command.
*CALL TO STAKEHOLDERS AND THE PUBLIC*
16. To members of the public, border communities, traditional leaders, and commercial transporters: we urge you to treat border security as a shared responsibility. Providing timely, credible intelligence remains vital to safeguarding our economic landscape.
17. To our media partners, thank you for your commitment to objective journalism. We count on you to continue educating the public on the critical distinction between compliant international trade and illicit smuggling.
18. Our position remains absolute: Legitimate trade will receive our maximum support, but smuggling will encounter uncompromising enforcement.
Signed
*Suleiman Sani Mohammed*
Deputy Superintendent of Customs
Public Relations Unit
For: Ag. Area Controller
*Najeem Akanmu Ogundeyi*
Deputy Comptroller of Customs
Kwara Area Command
Date: 10/09/2026
