*Oramalugo Hands Over 898 Parcels of Cannabis to NDLEA
*Hails CGC Provision of 10 Patrol Vehicles
Contrabands loaded in no fewer than five trucks have been intercepted by officers and men of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at its Seme Area Command.
The contrabands which are high on the Import Prohibition List (IPL) drawn by the Federal Government based on its fiscal policies and managed by NCS High Command include no fewer than 2800 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice, flour and used clothing popularly called ‘okrika’.
The interception of the contrabands which was described as “star seizure” by the Customs Area Controller (CAC), NCS, Seme Area Command, Comptroller Benedict Oramalugo was one of the results of the command’s anti-smuggling operations in the last one month.
Oramalugo who disclosed this recently in a press briefing at the command headquarters, Seme maintained that the command will not rest on its oars until smugglers of items in the IPL turned a new leaf.
His words: “For the past two weeks, between the 1st July and 19th July 2025, the operatives of the Command acting on credible intelligence and coordinated enforcement strategies, successfully intercepted and seized a total of 5 trucks laden with smuggled goods along the Lagos-Abidjan corridor. The trucks were found to contain a total of 2, 800 foreign parboiled rice 50Kg each, and 250 bales of used clothing. The duty paid value (DPV) of the seized rice and the means of conveyance (trucks) is N919, 500, 626.00.”
In the same vein, the CAC also disclosed other notable seizures during the period include 898 parcels of Cannabis Sativa (marijuana), 1,319 bags of foreign parboiled rice (50kg each), 40 bags of sugar (50kg each), 64 bags of flour (50kg each), 50 cartons of ketchup tomato, 1 boat and engine, 20 bales of second-hand clothing, as well as 4 bales of used shoes.
Oramalugo who has a PhD in History and Strategic Studies from the University of Lagos as well as two Masters degrees further revealed that the total value of all seizures during the period under review is N1, 268, 794, 474. 00 only.
Apparently aware that the command would not have attained the feat without the help of others, the CAC attributed the successful operations to the vigilance, resilience, and doggedness of the officers and men of the Seme Area Command, as well as the collaborative support from other security agencies, particularly the Nigerian Army.
The Customs Chief also attributed the strides made by the command to the support of the NCS High Command which has Alhaji Bashir Adewale Adeniyi as its Comptroller General.
According to him, the CGC only a few days ago released no few than 10 patrol vehicles to the command in order to give a bite and enhance its patrol activities.
He averred that the Federal Government’s ban on the importation of rice through land borders is to protect domestic rice farmers and millers thereby reducing dependency on imported rice.
His words: “Nigeria is the highest producer of rice in Africa with an annual output exceeding 8 million metric tons, surpassing Egypt and Tanzania. However, our rice mills continue to face challenges due to insufficient patronage which hampers their ability to operate at full capacity.”
On non-oil exports, the highly cerebral Customs Chief who is also an author said the command facilitated the movement of 1,837 trucks, equivalent to over 116,723.26MT of made-in-Nigeria goods.
According to him, these exports had a Free On Board (FOB) value of N22, 368, 388, 976. 10k only while the National Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) fees stood at N111, 841,944. 87k only.
The CAC noted that between May and July 2025, the Seme Area Command, through commitment and professionalism of its personnel, has generated a total revenue of N1, 593, 676, 123. 26.
He used the occasion to reaffirmed NCS unwavering commitment to securing the nation no matter what it takes to do so.
The high point of the briefing was the formal hand over of the Cannabis Sativa to the Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Seme Area Command who was represented by Mr. Idris Muhammed.
Apparently pleased with the development, Mohammed on behalf of NDLEA thanked NCS for the seizures.
He pledged continued collaboration of NDLEA with NCS to ensure further investigation and prosecution of suspects behind the seizure of the hard drugs.
