N5.53bn contraband-laden containers in Rivers

The Port Harcourt Area II Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Onne, Rivers State, has seized 56 containers laden with contraband goods with a combined duty-paid value of N5.53bn.

The seized consignments included vegetable oil, used clothing and foreign tomato paste, which the Customs said were illegally imported through the Onne Port and concealed under declarations for machinery and spare parts.

The containers were allegedly imported through the free trade zone under concessions granted by the Federal Government to facilitate manufacturing and other economic activities.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Tuesday during a news briefing at Onne, where he also inspected the seized consignments.

Adeniyi expressed concern over the abuse of concessions granted to operators in free trade zones, saying some importers were exploiting the incentives to bring restricted goods into the country for sale in the local market.

He explained that the Federal Government established special economic and free trade zones to encourage local production and exports, with operators granted incentives, including duty-free importation of plants, raw materials and machinery.

The Customs boss, however, said the concessions had increasingly been abused by some importers who allegedly used the zones as a cover to bring prohibited or restricted goods into the country.

He said, “The Command in Onne has been undertaking a review of operations of some goods that are imported through Onne Port but are destined for some free trade zones and other economic zones in the country.

“What we have discovered through our intelligence and risk-based analysis of the profiles of these importers is that so many of them have started to abuse the free zone concessions.”

Adeniyi said the command intercepted 45 containers of Delicious Pur vegetable oil, each containing 1,050 25-litre jerry cans, with a total duty-paid value of N4.2525bn.

He said the consignments were falsely declared as machinery and spare parts.

“And when we discovered them during physical examination, we discovered that they were vegetable oil. It is obvious that the intention of the importer is not to take them to free trade zones for any manufacturing activities other than to introduce them into our local markets,” he said.

The Customs CG added that nine 40-foot containers of used clothing, with a duty-paid value of N1.04558bn, were also seized.

He said two 20-foot containers of foreign tomato paste, valued at N232m in duty-paid terms, were equally intercepted.

Adeniyi said the vegetable oil and used clothing were seized because they were imported in contravention of Sections 55 and 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.

He assured that the owners of the seized consignments would be prosecuted after investigations in line with relevant import laws.

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He said the seizures were aimed at protecting the Nigerian economy, public health, domestic production and national security.

“What we have done in the interception of these containers is aimed at safeguarding Nigeria’s economic interests, protecting public health, supporting domestic production and ensuring compliance with the country’s import laws and regulations.

“Importing consignments that violate existing restrictions or involve false declarations, as we have seen in this particular case, can have serious consequences for the Nigerian economy and security and can further deprive the government of legitimate revenue.

“It also exposes our manufacturers, farmers and other local producers to unfair competition,” he said.

Adeniyi commended officers and men of the command for their vigilance in detecting the allegedly falsely declared consignments and urged them to sustain the tempo.

Meanwhile, Adeniyi has inaugurated the reconstructed Ebubu Health Centre in Ebubu, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The facility was remodelled by the Port Harcourt Area II Command as part of the Customs’ Corporate Social Responsibility programme.

Speaking at the inauguration, Adeniyi commended the Area II Controller, Aliyu Alkali, for responding to the directive to execute CSR projects in communities within the command’s areas of operation.

He said the initiative was part of the service’s Customs Care policy, through which the NCS had undertaken interventions in education, healthcare and other sectors across the country.

Adeniyi urged the Ebubu community to take ownership of the facility and protect it from vandalism.

Alkali thanked the Customs CG for his support and encouragement towards the renovation of the health centre.

He said the facility was in a state of abandonment before the intervention, adding that its equipment and other facilities had allegedly been looted.

According to him, the renovated centre would ease the burden on residents seeking healthcare services and demonstrated the command’s commitment to the welfare of communities within its operational area.

Also speaking, the Director of Medical Services, Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Dr Tonye Lawson-Jack, thanked the Customs Service for intervening in the renovation and upgrading of the facility.

Lawson-Jack assured the community that the board had sufficient manpower to meet the healthcare needs of residents using the facility.