Seme Customs Records 448% Revenue Growth, Seizes Cannabis, Smuggled Goods Worth ₦501m
Kathy Kyari
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Area Command, has announced a 448 per cent increase in revenue generation, collecting over ₦9.7 billion between March and May 2026, while intensifying anti-smuggling operations that led to major seizures along the Seme border corridor.
Addressing journalists during his maiden press briefing on Monday at the Command, the Customs Area Controller, Abdullahi Kaila, said the Command generated a total revenue of ₦9,798,938,969 within the review period.
According to him, the figure represents an increase of ₦7.6 billion compared to the ₦2.1 billion collected during the corresponding period in 2025.
“I am pleased to inform you that the Seme Area Command has recorded a significant improvement in revenue performance within the period under review. From March 2026 to date, the Command generated a total revenue of Nine Billion, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Thirty-Eight Thousand, Nine Hundred and Sixty-Nine Naira (₦9,798,938,969),” he said.
He attributed the revenue growth to strengthened compliance measures, improved stakeholder cooperation, intensified anti-revenue leakage strategies, enhanced operational efficiency, and deployment of the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System.
“This remarkable achievement is attributable to strengthened compliance mechanisms, improved stakeholder cooperation, intensified anti-revenue leakage measures, enhanced operational efficiency, and the strategic deployment of the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System,” Kaila stated.
The Area Controller noted that the Command had also intensified trade facilitation efforts in line with the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), through sustained engagements with freight forwarders, customs agents, transport unions, importers, exporters, traditional institutions and other security agencies operating within the corridor.
He explained that the engagements had helped to simplify clearance procedures, improve compliance awareness and support Small and Medium Enterprises seeking access to regional and international markets.
On anti-smuggling operations, Kaila disclosed that the Command intercepted 1,000 parcels of Cannabis Sativa and several unregistered pharmaceutical products during coordinated enforcement operations along the Seme-Badagry corridor and adjoining routes.
“Notably, the Command seized 1000 parcels of Cannabis Sativa, a narcotic substance prohibited under the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act and Section 245(1) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023,” he said.
He added that the narcotics would be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for further investigation and prosecution.
The seized pharmaceutical products included codeine-based cough syrups and several sexual enhancement drugs without certification from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.
Among the products intercepted were 55 bottles of Ultimate Plus Maca Syrup, 88 packs of 99 Bullets Herbal Medicine, cartons of Sildenafil Citrate products, and packs of Tramaking and Tempendol.
The Command also recorded seizures of 2,000 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 340 kegs of foreign vegetable oil, 103 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 993 cartons of foreign spaghetti and 250 bales of used clothing.
Kaila disclosed that the Duty Paid Value of the seized items stood at ₦501,845,772.
“These seizures underscore the Command’s zero-tolerance stance against smuggling and reaffirm our determination to protect the nation’s economy, support local industries, preserve public safety, and enforce compliance with extant import and export regulations,” he said.
He warned smugglers and their collaborators to desist from illegal activities, stressing that the Command had strengthened its intelligence network and surveillance capacity across land and maritime routes.
“The Seme Area Command will not serve as a safe haven for illicit trade,” he warned.
Kaila commended officers and men of the Command for their dedication and also appreciated stakeholders, host communities and the media for supporting the activities of the Service.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigeria Customs Service under the leadership of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, to balancing revenue generation, trade facilitation, border security and national economic development.
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