9th September, 2023
By Esther Komolafe
The Seme Command of Nigeria Customs Service is set to exceed its given revenue target for the year 2023 going by the amount it already generated in the first three quarters of the year that is yet to end.
The Command has successfully garnered N1.904, 459, 390.77 which is about 97.2 per cent of its N1,960,000,000 target revenue for the year 2023.
The Customs Area Controller of Seme Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi, gave this information on Friday during a press briefing.
He also presented commendation letters to 18 officers of the Customs Command for their gallant performance in the anti- smuggling drive of the command during the press conference.
He attributed the achievement in the revenue collection to the painstaking efforts of the leadership of the Command and other stakeholders.
Speaking on some of the recent activities of the Command, Nnadi revealed that in the early hours of Friday 8th September 2023 at along the Badagry Coast, officers and Men of the Command acting on credible intelligence intercepted 1,364 30 litres of jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit, equivalent to 40,800 litres of one tanker Load with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N24, 663, 355 only
“In the area of anti-smuggling operation, you are already conversant with our past headline seizures (fake six million US dollars equivalent to two billion seven hundred million (N2.7 B) Naira). This is in addition to other notable seizures recorded between January and August 2023 and listed below:
“Six Thousand Five Hundred and Sixty Nine (6569) 50kg bags of rice equivalent to sixteen (16) trailer loads of foreign parboiled rice with Duty Paid Value of N312, 242, 064.93k.
“13, 835 x 30 litres Jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit equivalent to 415, 050 litres or 13 petroleum tankers with Duty Paid Value of 738,276, 461k.
15,389 of General Merchandise Goods.
He listed the hard drugs and narcotics seized by operatives of the Command to include “41 parcels of Cannabis Sativa, 4,900 Tablets 225mg of Tramadol Tamol-X, 3,600 Tablets 225mg of Tramadol Royal 225, 157 Tablets of Heineken Ecstacy, 864 Packs of Cigarette,
“The duty paid value for items seized for the period January to 8th September 2023 is One Billion, Eight Hundred and Twenty-Seven Million, Three Hundred and Sixty Two Thousand, Six Hundred and Nineteen Niara (1, 827, 362, 619. 00)
“In addition to the above, in line with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) dictate of encouraging its personnel, the Officers and Men of the Command that were involved in the seizures of fake Six million USD ($6,000,000) currency, Fifteen (15) fake international passports and Ten (10) Driver’s license, and that of Donkey skins in January 2023 have been commended by the Ag. Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.
The Comptroller applauded the Comptroller General of Customs for his support to the command and the Seme Badagry community for their cooperation.
He also commended officers and men of the command for their gallantry and patriotic behaviour.