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Tag: customs

  • Customs collects N140b in August

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday said it recorded the highest monthly revenue collection of N140,415,355,659.97 in the month of August this year.

    Commenting on this feat, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd) said it was a result of the dogged pursuit of the organisation’s reform programmes.

    The programmes include: strategic deployment of manpower; upgrade on the electronic systems from Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS I) to NICIS II which has blocked leakages; and strict enforcement of extant guidelines by the Tariff and Trade Department.

    He also attributed the feat to the robust stakeholder engagements resulting in higher compliance and increased disposition of officers and men to change the way of doing things for the better.

    NCS Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Attah in a statement yesterday, explained that Ali’s implementation of three pronged Presidential Mandate of Restructure, Reform and Raise revenue in NCS has continued to strengthen the service as a crucial contributor to economy and security.

    In the last eight months, the Service has seized 156,090 bags of smuggled rice, 15,632 sets of military wears, 489,000 ammunitions and other items with the highest monthly revenue collection of over N140 billion in August 2018.

    He said these positive harvests in the areas of anti-smuggling and revenue generation is a clear testimony of what can be achieved under a selflessly focused leadership.

    Ali called on Nigerians to support the Service by providing credible information that will help nip smuggling in the bud and generate needed revenue for national development.

  • Customs collections hit N140b in August

    Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday said that it recorded highest ever monthly revenue collection of N140,415,355,659.97 in the month of August 2018.

    Commenting on this historic feat, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) described it as a result of dogged pursuit of the reform programmes which include: Strategic deployment of manpower; Upgrade on the electronic systems from Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS I) to NICIS II which has blocked leakages and Strict enforcement of extant guidelines by the Tariff and Trade department. He also attributed the feat to the robust stakeholder engagements resulting in higher compliance and increased disposition of Officers and Men to change the way of doing things for the better.

    The Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Attah disclosed this in a statement a on Tuesday.

    Read Also: Customs seizes smuggled goods worth N500m in Bauchi

    Ali’s implementation of three pronged Presidential mandate of Restructure, Reform and Raise revenue in NCS has continued to strengthen the Service as a crucial contributor to National economy and Security.

    In the last eight months, the Service has effected seizures of 156,090 bags of smuggled rice, 15,632 sets of military wears, 489,000 ammunitions and other items with the highest monthly revenue collection of over N140 billion in August 2018.

    These positive harvests in the areas of anti-smuggling and Revenue generation is a clear testimony of what can be achieved under a selflessly focused leadership.

    NCS p, according to the statement, called on Nigerians to support the Service by providing credible information that will help nip smuggling at the bud and generate needed revenue for national development.

  • Customs seizes smuggled goods worth N500m in Bauchi

    The Federal Operations Unit (FOU)‎ of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Zone D, has seized smuggled goods worth N50 million across the nine states of the zone according to Mr Peters Olugboyega, the Comptroller of the zone.

    He made the disclosure while briefing Journalists in Bauchi, adding that the goods were seized from various locations in the zone.
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    Olugbenga said the seized goods include: 1,963 cartons of Spaghetti, 780‎ gallons of vegetable Oil, 300 bags of parboiled rice concealed in BUA Sugar bags and 90 Bales of second hand clothing
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    According to him, the goods are accosted while being transported ‎in three J5 Buses and two trucks at different locations.

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    ‘”The truck carrying 1,963 cartons of Spaghetti and 780 Jerrycans of Vegetable oil was yesterday impounded along Potiskum-Gombe road.
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    “The three J5 buses conveying 90 Bales of second ‎hand clothing, each fully loaded with 30 Bales

    were today impounded by our personnel on patrol along Kano-Bauchi road

    “The Mercedes-Benz truck with the concealed bags of Rice was impounded by our men along Jos-Bauchi road on last Saturday.

    “The total worth of the goods is about N500 million, ” he said.

     

    Read Also: Youths injure policemen, destroy patrol vehicle in Jos
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    The Comptroller noted that smuggling, had over time affected the country economy, leading to huge losses ‎in the revenue drive of the country.

    Olugbenga expressed the commitment of the Service to reduce the menace to the barest minimum.
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    He said that drivers of the vehicles ‎carrying the smuggled items were arrested and would soon be prosecuted alongside the smugglers.
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    He warned Nigerians to desist from smuggling, stressing that that anyone caught would be prosecuted according to the provisions of the law

    The News Agency of Nigeria NAN reports that the Zone D of the Service with its headquarters in Bauchi, comprised of Borno,Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Taraba, Gombe, Plateau, Benue and Nassarawa‎ states

  • Customs seizes 50,000 jerry cans of fuel in Ogun creek

    The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) said yesterday it intercepted petroleum products estimated at millions of naira while being smuggled to Benin Republic.

    The items, it was learnt, were intercepted at the weekend by officers of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) at Zone ‘A’ in Ikeja, the Lagos State capital.

    The petroleum products were reportedly loaded in 12 wooden speed boats conveying about 50,000 Jerry cans in Ijofin Creek in Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State.

    The Assistant Comptroller General of Customs for Zone A, Aminu Dahiru, who was accompanied by the Customs Area Controller of FOU Zone A, Compt. Mohammed Aliyu and Controller of Ogun Command, Michael Agbara, said the seizures followed days of intelligence gathering by officers of the unit.

    According to him, exportation of petroleum products through the creeks is an illegal trade and the service will continue to deal with it.

    Dahiru said: “This is a big seizure and it needed to be showcased because of the size and the volume involved. The 11,000 Jerry cans were evacuated. Besides, there is more than triple that number in the creeks about to be snuggled out of the country. So, we thought it’s time to show Nigerians the activities of economic saboteurs and how we are dealing ruthlessly with them.”

    On how the seizures were made, he said: “This is an unimaginable seizure made by our officers since they are petroleum products. We do not expect them to be smuggled into Nigeria. So, naturally, they are going out…”

  • Customs probes illegal import of military wears

    Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC) Hameed Ali has inaugurated a six-member investigative committee to find out those connected to the illegal import of military wears.

    Ali, in a statement by Customs spokesman Joseph Attah in Abuja, said the committee was inaugurated under the chairmanship of Assistant Comptroller-General (ACG) Sanusi Umar, who is also the zonal coordinator, Zone ‘C’ headquarters.

    The statement said the committee was constituted, following seizures of military wears by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) operatives.

    The spokesman said sometime in July, officers and men of the NCS Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘C’ and Operatives of Onne Area II Command Port Harcourt intercepted 2X40ft containers.

    He said the containers of MRSU 3040288 and MRKU 4909151 were found to contain military camouflages and other items on July 27 and August 16.

    “The first interception was found to contain 11 bales, each containing 400 pairs of new set of military camouflage uniform, totalling 4400 sets.

    “The second interception was found to contain 620 sets of completely sewn military camouflage uniform and caps, 10,100 pieces of inner military T-Shirts, 512 pairs of military jungle boots.”

    Attah said the imports were “contrary to schedule 4(13) of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff, which falls under Absolute Prohibition and Section 46(b) of Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA)”.

    He said the CGC, while inaugurating the committees, said preliminary investigations led to the arrest of five persons, including the importer of both consignments.

    Attah said Alli told the committee that investigation be conducted to unravel those “remotely connected to the criminal importation, with a view to punishing offenders and preventing recurrence.”

    He said the committee also included “ACG E, I&I, ACG Bukar Amajam, DC Olomu B.O., AC Okonmah S, Mr. J.O. Oloworaran – DIA and Barrister T.K. Wudapba – NCS Legal Adviser.

     

  • Customs records N118b monthly revenue

    Three days to the end of August, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has already generated N118billion -the highest revenue monthly collection ever, it was learnt yesterday.

    The Nation gathered from the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Attah, in Abuja that the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) made the disclosure in Abuja yesterday.

    The Customs spokesman said:  “This month, the service has generated the highest ever monthly collection. It is still three days to the end of the month. And he announced a collection of N118 billion.”

    Attah attributed the impressive collection to the upgrade of the electronic platform from Nigeria Customs Information System (NISES), stressing that “system has now effectively blocked all the leakages that were associated with the former platform. It now monitors every Kobo being collected in the system.”

    He said the no nonsense stance of the Comptroller-General was also accountable for the huge monthly collection.

    The implementation of NISES, he said, is now giving rise to increase in revenue collection and increased contribution to the national treasury. He noted that the collection will assist the government to meet its promises to the citizenry in terms of infrastructure development in the face of dwindling oil revenue.

     

    Asked whether the implementation of the National Automative Policy has improved the industry or worsened it, Attah said being a government policy, the NCS is bound to implement it.

    “Ours is to implement. But if you go to the streets, you will be able to know how many cars that have been assembled indigenously, and what local content value was brought into it.”

     

  • Customs disowns ‘illegal’ checkpoint in Katsina

    NIGERIA Customs Service (NCS) in Kaduna/Katsina Area Command yesterday disowned ‘illegal’’ checking point at Yargamji village, on Kurfi- Dutsinma road in Katsina State, saying it was unauthorised and a ‘’one man patrol show’’

    The command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Theophilus Duniya, said: “The checking point is not authorised, since there was no operational vehicle at the point.

    ‘’Again, every operational team must consist of not less than five personnel with a team leader and a team list. A Customs man will not stoop low to extort money; who is he collecting it for?

    The Nation had exclusively reported about an operation by two suspected Customs officers, at Yargamji village, on Kurfi-Dutsinma road, who were caught at 3.22 pm on August 25 exhorting money from commercial drivers.

    The report noted that they were not checking contraband or smuggled goods, but rather they focus on collecting money from commercial drivers.

    Former Comptroller at the Kaduna/Katsina Area Command Olusemire Kayode has been handed over to O.A.R Oyeleke.

     

     

  • Customs seize N8.8m prohibited items in Kano

    The Kano/Jigawa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has impounded smuggled foreign rice and other contraband goods, worth N8.8 million in Kano.

    Its Comptroller, Nasir Ahmad yesterday displayed the seized items at the Bompai headquarters in Kano.

    Ahmad said his Anti-smuggling Squad intercepted the rice and consignment of second-hand clothes at different locations.

    He lamented the nefarious activities of rice smuggling and other contraband into Kano, adding that “alarming rate of thesae saboteurs has continued to crippled economic activities in the commercial city.

    “It is unfortunate that activities of smugglers have crippled businesses in Kano. Smuggling of rice and drugs has destroyed our local businesses and unless we address the trend, we will continue to destroy ourselves. The NCS will continue to do its best to stop smuggling of rice and other contraband goods into Kano.

    “We are not here to cripple lawful businesses. Rather to discourage illegal businesses. We will visit any warehouse where foreign rice and other contraband goods are kept, evacuate the goods, arrest the owner of the warehouse and prosecute him.”

    Ahmad urged traders in the two states to desist from smuggling, adding that the service would deal with anybody found culpable.

  • Customs impound over N8.8m prohibited items in Kano

    The Kano/Jigawa Nigerian Customs Command has impounded smuggled foreign rice and other contraband goods valued at over N8.8m in Kano.

    The Command’s Comptroller of the service Nasir Ahmed disclosed this to reporters on Tuesday, while displaying the seized items at his headquarters in Bompai Kano.

    Ahmad said his anti smuggling squad intercepted the foreign rice and consignment of second-hand clothes at different locations within its operational jurisdiction of the command,within five days, during the just concluded Sallah break.

    He expressed disgust over the nefarious activities of smuggling of rice and other contraband goods into Kano, adding that, alarming rate of this saboteurs has continued to crippled economic activities in the commercial city.

    Read Also: Customs seizes N10b pangolin scales

    According to him,“It is unfortunate that activities of smugglers have crippled businesses in Kano. Smuggling of rice and drugs has destroyed our local businesses and unless we address the trend, we will continue to destroy ourselves.

    “The NCS will continue to do its best to stop smuggling of rice and other contraband goods into Kano. Once, we stop illegal importation of rice into Kano,

    “We are not here to cripple lawful businesses. Rather to discourage illegal businesses. We will visit any warehouse where foreign rice and other contraband goods are kept, evacuate the goods, arrest the owner of the warehouse and prosecute him.

    Ahmad urged traders in the two states to desist from any form of smuggling, affirming the service would not hesitate to deal ruthlessly with anybody found engaging in such unwholesome activities.

  • Customs seizes N10b pangolin scales 

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit, (FOU), Zone A, Ikeja, said it has seized pangolin scales and elephant tusks valued at N10 billion in six months.

    A  worldwide ban on trade in pangolins was agreed to at a meeting of 181 nations, including Nigeria, at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in September 2016.

    Prior to the ban, China legally imported some pangolin scales, mainly from Africa, for use in traditional Chinese medicine and the pharmaceutical industry.

    However, to enforce the global ban on the endanged animals, Customs officers siezed the pangolin at different locations in Lagos.

    Customs Area Controller of the unit,  Comptroller Mohammed Uba, at a recent briefing, praised the warehouse operation team under the leadership of Assistant Controller Mutalib Sule, who had made smuggling of pangolin and elephant tusks tough for Chinese nationals involved in the illegal trade.

    According to a source, the Warehouse Operation team had on   February 14  evacuated elephant tusk and pangolin scales valued at N2.3 billion at a warehouse in Ikeja while on March 16, another pangolin scale was intercepted by the same team at Opebi, Ikeja.

    In another operation on March 9   at another warehouse in Opebi, the warehouse operation team again intercepted N1.5 billion pangolin scales while on August 1, 21 sacks of pangolin and four pieces of elephant tusks estimated at N1.5 billion were intercepted at Oba Elegushi International Market, Ajah.

    However, the source who pleaded anonymity, said  of the four operations carried out by the  warehouse officers, Chinese are behind the illegal possession and alleged exportation of pangolin scales in Nigeria.

    The source also the suspects have been charged to court and have been granted bail by the court of law.

    She said: “Since the ban on trading on pangolin, Nigeria has made the lagest seizure of pangolin scales in the world with 13,203kg followed by Japan 7,000kg and all interception were done by the warehouse operations team led by Mutalib and assisted by SC Isah Adamu.

    “The seizure has raised global awareness for Nigeria zero tolerance for the exportation of the endangered species that the United Nation has indicated interest to kit Nigeria Customs for effective performance of their jobs.

    “The team has been able to enforce the international convention that no trade of pangolin in any domestic or international market because the animal is considered as an endangered specie and the scales cannot be got without making the animal extinct.”

    Adegbite Babajide praised the FOU, Zone A and the warehouse officers who made the interceptions.

    Adegbite said the warehouse officers have saved Nigeria what could have been an embarrassment in the international community.

    He said: “The warehouse Operation team should be appreciated for putting Nigeria on a world map in a positive way. They may have decided to take bribe and allow the Chinese export the contraband but they remained selfless and patriotic to the country by arresting the Chinese and evacuating the contraband.“

    He, however, suggested that the Comptroller-General should give them accelerated promotion and commendation letter for their exploit.

    “Giving them accelerated promotion and commendation letter personally signed by the Customs CG, Col. Hameed Ali is not out of place. Governments celebrate good deeds and condemn bad deeds. These officers have shown to be patriotic in the face of temptation so they should be celebrated,” Adegbite advised.