By Olubunmi Isokpehi
In line with its statutory responsibilities and to stem the tide against smuggling of petroleum products, the Seme Area Command, Nigeria Customs Service has sustained surveillance and offensive patrol along the creeks and beaches within Badagry and its environs leading to remarkable successes.
This information was in a statement issued signed by the Command Public Relation Officer, SC Hussaini Abdullahi and made available to GLOBAL RAYS Media.
The statement reads in part: “This led to the interception of one thousand, one hundred and thirteen (1,113) Jerry cans of PMS in (30) litres each, equivalent to thirty-three thousand, three hundred and ninety (33,390) litres during a routine patrol in beaches along the Badagry waterways.”
“The seizure with a Duty Paid Value DPV of eight million, eight hundred and eight thousand, two hundred and eighty (N8,808,280.00) only was made in the late hours of Wednesday 8 December 2022.”
In his remarks, the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Bello Jibo, said, “With this latest seizure, the Command has so far intercepted a total of thirty-one thousand (31,000) jerry cans of PMS in 30 litres each, equivalent to nine hundred and thirty thousand, one hundred and forty (930, 140) litres, about twenty (28) tanker loads of thirty-three thousand (33,000) litres each from January to date.”
The CAC added, “The combined Duty Paid Value (DPV) of the aforementioned items stood at one hundred and sixty-seven million, seven hundred and twenty-two thousand, seven hundred and fifty-one Naira, and fifty-one kobo (N167,722,751.51) only.”
The Comptroller further stated that the giant feat achieved by the Command is unprecedented and the first of its kind in the history of the Command.
He reaffirmed the commitment of his officers and men to continue making smuggling unattractive. However, he noted that the Command will not succumb to cheap blackmail paddled by economic saboteurs who believe that the only way to succeed in carrying out their nefarious activities, is by spreading falsehood on the Command.
Compt. Jibo reassured that the Command remains committed to fighting all forms of illegal and unlawful businesses to a standstill at our borders.
He called on Nigerians who are doing legitimate business along the corridor should continue their normal activities as the Command remain firmly in its quest to facilitate legitimate businesses.
