The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it generated the sum of N1.2 trillion and confiscated smuggled items worth N61.5 billion in 2018. The amount represents an increase of N164.8 billion or 16 % over the N1.04 generated in 2017.
A statement made available by the Customs spokesman, Joseph Attah, on Friday, quoted the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, as saying that the feat was made possible by the “dogged pursuit of what is right rather than being populist by compromising national interest on the altar of individual or group interests”.
According to him, “The increasing annual revenue generation from the service in the last three years is the result of reform programmes, which include but not limited to upgrade on the electronic systems from Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) 1 to NICIS 2, which has blocked leakages.
“Strategic deployment of manpower, strict enforcement of extant guidelines by the Tariff and Trade Department, robust stakeholder engagement resulting to increased compliance and increased disposition of officers and men to put national interest above selves.”
Attah said Customs’ reinvigorated anti-smuggling operations yielded a total of 5,235 seizures with duty paid value (DPV) of N61.5 billion within the review period. The seizures, he said, include arms, ammunitions, more than 59 containers of tramadol and other controlled drugs and 320,709 foreign rice, among others.
“Though smuggling remains a challenge, the service’s three layers security strategy continues to make smuggling unattractive to would-be smugglers. While the service continues to deal decisively with smugglers, fellow citizens, especially border dwellers and port users are advised to support NCS by reporting any smuggling activity to the nearest Customs formation.
“Together we can protect our economy and security by joining hands to fight smuggling and ensure that appropriate Customs duty is paid on every dutiable import.
“Accordingly, we appreciate compliant stakeholders that have supported the service in 2018 and call on all Nigerians and especially international trade actors to help make 2019 better for the nation,” the statement added.
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