Tuesday- 13th July, 2021: The Nigeria Customs service, Oyo/Osun Area command has generated ₦15,871,894,311.83 (Fifteen Billion, Eight Hundred and Seventy One Million, Eight Hundred and Ninety Four thousand, Three Hundred and Eleven Naira and Eighty Three Kobo) between 1st of May and 6th of July, 2021.
The Area Command Comptroller, Adamu R. Abdulkadir, disclosed this at a press briefing in Ibadan on Tuesday to showcase the achievements of the command in the past three months.
According to him, the command also collected an excise duty of N10,658,695,609.41 (Ten Billion, Six Hundred and Fifty Eight Million, Six Hundred and Ninety Five Thousand, Six Hundred and Nine Naira and Forty One Kobo) in the month of June.
The command on the smuggling drive, made 50 (Fifty) seizures and 8 (Eight) detentions resulting in a Duty Paid Value of N66,976,000 (Sixty Six Million, Nine Hundred and Seventy Six Thousand Naira).
In addition, the Command made a seizure of 525 (Five Hundred and Twenty Five) kegs of 25ltrs each and 2 (Two) drums of 100 ltrs each of Premium Motor Spirit and a detention of 1 (One) unit of 2017 Honda Accord sedan car along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway pending presentation of necessary Customs document.
Abdulkadri revealed that that the revenue generated between the month of May to 6th of July, brought the cumulative revenue collected for the 2021 fiscal year, as at 6 July 2021 to N36,658,156,560.99 (Thirty Six Billion, Six Hundred and Fifty Eight Million, One Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, Five Hundred and Sixty Naira and Ninety Nine Kobo) only.
He commended the efforts of the officers who have shown professionalism, zeal, and experience in the gallant discharge of their duties, stating that they are key to the success showcased today.
He also disclosed that as part of the directives from the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd.) that the command has set up some tactical units towards making sure the work is being carried out as instructed by the federal government.
These special task forces include; the Operation Fish-Out, Excise Task Force, PMS Task Force and most recently, the Mining Task Force (MTF Team).
He said “the MTF Team was created to comb the nook and crannies of both Oyo and Osun States in search of illegal mining operators who have failed to register their existence with the Nigeria Customs Service to enable proper monitoring, statistical data analysis and control of Precious Materials (Ornamental Stones) that are mined and exported to foreign countries.
He therefore urged companies engaged in mining operations of precious stones and other national mineral assets within Nigeria, to register their operations with the Nigeria Customs Service to avoid embarrassment and sanctions in accordance with relevant sections of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) Cap C45 LFN 2004.
The custom boss expressed his appreciation to the Customs Intelligence Unit, Customs Police Unit, Joint Border Patrol Team, Federal Operations Unit and the Strike Force Team and commend the collaboration of sister agencies for their contribution and synergy in the course of duties.
