The Ogun Area 1 Command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday disclosed that it generated a sum of N34,173,105, between April and May, this year.
According to the Ogun Area 1 Command Controller, Comptroller Bamidele Makinde, the amount represents 69 per cent when compared to the corresponding period of the year 2022, which stood at N10,615 million.
While reacting to a viral video on social media on the opening of the Idiroko border, Makinde, confirmed that the Idiroko border in the Ipokia local government area of Ogun State has been open for business since April 2022, for business transactions between Nigeria and other West African countries.
He declared that the NCS has put all necessary machinery in motion towards ensuring that Nigeria’s export trades through the Idiroko border routes increased to the desired height.
He explained that only the Idiroko border route was approved for opening to business transactions across the West African trade routes out of the six routes that entered into Nigeria through Ogun State, while goods moving through the five other routes will still remain illegal “for now”.
Makinde, who reiterated that NCS’ mandate included trade facilitation and suppression of smuggling, further disclosed that the anti – smuggling operatives of the command successfully intercepted a total number of 6, 924 bags of foreign parboiled rice, each weighing 50kg and equivalent to 11 trailer truck loads between the months of April and May, 2023 which have been evacuated into the Service’s central warehouse.
Giving a breakdown of the seizure made by his command between the period under review, the Area 1 Controller said contrabands which included used tyres, Cannabis Sativa and other items prohibited by the law were intercepted by the anti-smuggling operatives of the command.
Makinde however, disclosed that the Duty Payable Value (DPV) of the contrabands intercepted between April and May this year actually worth N335, 855, 989, stressing that the seizure were made with “deployment of intelligence” across the state.
Makinde however, commended the the cooperation of other sister security agencies without which he said the feat wouldn’t have been possible.
