Uchenna Cecil Izuora
The Nigeria Customs Service, Seme Area Command, has recorded a surge in revenue generation and a major crackdown on smuggling within three months of operations under its new Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Abdullahi Kaila. In a media briefing at the Command’s headquarters in Lagos on Monday, 25 May 2026, Kaila revealed that the formation generated 9 billion, 798 million, 938 thousand, 969 naira in customs revenue from March 2026 to date, representing a 448 percent increase over the same period in 2025.
The Command’s revenue jump from 2 billion, 188 million, 405 thousand, 749 naira in the comparable 2025 window to nearly 9.8 billion naira was credited to a tightened compliance drive, enhanced intelligence operations, and the use of the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System, alongside sharper anti‑revenue‑leakage measures. Kaila said officers’ vigilance and renewed discipline had also contributed significantly to the spike, adding that the Command would sustain the momentum through institutional reforms and transparent trade procedures that do not hamper legitimate trade.
At the same time, Kaila highlighted Seme’s strategic role as a key land‑border gate linking Nigeria to neighbouring ECOWAS states and feeding into the African Continental Free Trade Area framework. He said the Command has intensified consultations with customs agents, freight forwarders, transport unions, importers, exporters, and traditional institutions to simplify clearance processes, reduce bottlenecks, and build trust with the trading public. The focus, he added, is on supporting small and medium enterprises to access regional and international markets through easier documentation and regulatory guidance, in line with the Federal Government’s push to diversify the economy and improve Nigeria’s Ease of Doing Business standing.
On the enforcement front, Kaila disclosed that the Command has intensified intelligence‑led sweeps along the Seme‑Badagry corridor and adjoining routes. Within the last three months, operatives seized 1000 parcels of Cannabis Sativa, which are being processed for handover to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. The Command also intercepted a large consignment of unregistered pharmaceuticals, including codeine‑based cough syrups and undeclared sexual‑enhancement drugs such as Ultimate Plus Maca Syrup, 99 Bullets Herbal Medicine, Sildenafil‑based tablets, and other uncertified products, all of which contravene the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, and will be handed over to NAFDAC for regulatory action.
Other major seizures include 2000 bags of foreign parboiled rice, about 340 kegs of 25‑litre foreign vegetable oil, 103 kegs of 30litre Premium Motor Spirit, 993 cartons of imported spaghetti, and 250 bales of used clothing, with a combined duty‑paid value of 501 million, 845 thousand, 772 naira. Kaila stressed that these operations reflect the Command’s zero‑tolerance stance against smuggling and economic sabotage, and warned haulage cartels and collaborators that Seme would no longer be a safe route for illicit trade.
He urged compliant traders to see regulatory adherence as the fastest, safest, and most cost‑effective option for doing business, while pledging that the Command would continue to improve trade facilitation through dialogue, stakeholder platforms, and dispute‑resolution mechanisms. In his closing remarks, Kaila commended officers and men of the Command, alongside host communities and partners, for their cooperation, describing the revenue surge and enforcement gains as key milestones in the Nigeria Customs Service’s broader reform agenda under the leadership of Comptroller‑General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR.