Key Points
- Seme Area Command recorded ₦9.79 billion revenue between March and May 2026, representing a 448 per cent increase from the same period in 2025.
- The command intercepted cannabis, unregistered pharmaceuticals, foreign rice, PMS, spaghetti, vegetable oil, and used clothing with a Duty Paid Value exceeding ₦501 million.
- Customs says intensified intelligence operations, stakeholder engagement, and the deployment of the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System drove the improved performance.
Main story
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Area Command, has announced the generation of ₦9.79 billion in revenue between March and May 2026, alongside major anti-smuggling seizures valued at over ₦501.8 million.
Speaking during a media briefing held on Monday at the command headquarters in Seme, the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Abdullahi Kaila, said the command’s performance reflected strengthened compliance measures, enhanced stakeholder cooperation, and intensified anti-smuggling operations.
Kaila disclosed that the command generated a total of ₦9,798,938,969 within the review period, compared to ₦2,188,405,749 recorded during the corresponding period in 2025, representing an increase of ₦7.61 billion and a growth rate of 448 per cent.
According to him, the significant rise in revenue was driven by improved operational efficiency, anti-revenue leakage measures, and the strategic deployment of the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System.
He noted that the Seme border corridor remains a critical gateway for regional trade under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), adding that the command had intensified engagement with customs agents, freight forwarders, transport unions, importers, exporters, and other stakeholders to ease trade processes and improve compliance.
The controller stated that the command also continued to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with export documentation and regulatory guidance to boost non-oil exports and support the Federal Government’s economic diversification agenda.
On anti-smuggling activities, Kaila said intelligence-led operations conducted along the Seme-Badagry corridor resulted in the seizure of 1,000 parcels of Cannabis Sativa, which would be handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation and prosecution.
He further disclosed that the command intercepted several unregistered pharmaceutical products, including codeine-based cough syrups and sexual enhancement drugs without certification from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The seized pharmaceutical products include cartons of Ultimate Plus Maca Syrup, Super Sexy Sildenafil Citrate, Machine Man Sildenafil Citrate, Tramaking, Tempendol, and other unregistered herbal medicines, all of which will be transferred to NAFDAC for regulatory action.
In separate operations, the command also seized 2,000 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 340 kegs of vegetable oil, 103 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 993 cartons of foreign spaghetti, and 250 bales of used clothing.
Kaila warned smugglers and their collaborators to desist from illegal activities, stressing that the command had strengthened surveillance operations and intelligence networks across land and maritime routes to tackle economic sabotage and trans-border crimes.
The issues
The Seme border corridor remains one of Nigeria’s busiest trade routes and a major channel for both legitimate trade and smuggling activities. The influx of prohibited goods, narcotics, and unregistered pharmaceuticals continues to pose threats to public health, local industries, border security, and government revenue.
Customs authorities are also under increasing pressure to strike a balance between facilitating legitimate trade and enforcing strict border control measures amid regional trade integration under AfCFTA and ETLS.
What’s being said
Comptroller Kaila attributed the command’s improved revenue performance 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.”
He reiterated the command’s zero-tolerance stance on smuggling, warning that the Seme Area Command “will not serve as a safe haven for illicit trade.”
The controller also encouraged traders and business operators to embrace compliance, describing it as “the safest, fastest, and most cost-effective pathway for conducting international trade.”
What’s next
The command said the seized cannabis and unregistered pharmaceutical products would be formally handed over to the NDLEA and NAFDAC respectively for further investigation and regulatory action.
Customs also pledged to sustain intelligence-driven operations, stakeholder engagement, and trade facilitation reforms aimed at boosting revenue collection while curbing smuggling activities along the border corridor.
Bottom line
The latest performance by the Seme Area Command highlights the Nigeria Customs Service’s intensified push to strengthen border security, improve revenue generation, and combat smuggling, while supporting regional trade and the Federal Government’s broader economic reform agenda.
, Seme Area Command, has announced the generation of ₦9.79 billion in revenue between March and May 2026...){kind=link}