The Oyo/Osun Area Command of Nigeria Customs Service has generated N18,169,659,402.67 billion as revenue between January and March.
This was disclosed by the Area Controller, Dr Ben Oramalugo, at a press briefing held at the Area Command headquarters at Ikolaba, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Wednesday.
Comptroller Oramalugo said that for the month of March, a sum of N5,673,615,718.56 billion was collected as revenue into the federal government coffers.
He said that the March generated revenue, when added to N12,496,043,684.11 billion collected in January and February, brought the total amount of the first quarter to over N18 billion.
In addition, the Area Controller spoke on the intensification of anti-smuggling activities of his command through interception of smuggled goods during the period under review.
Among the intercepted and seized contraband items were 982 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice worth N86.416 million; 254 pieces of used tyres with duty paid value of N24.384 million; 27 bales of African original textile materials worth N12,757,500 million and 494 (25-litre) kegs of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) worth N8.151 million.
Others were 12-tyre DAF truck with duty paid value of N100 million; six-tyre DAF truck worth N50 million; 12 sacks and 40 wraps of cannabis sativa weighing 80.2 kilogrammes and worth N5.495 million; six sacks and 25 bales of used clothing worth N11,437,440 million; 20 packs of Tramadol tablets worth N1 million; and a pack of Diazepam tablets worth N20,000.
The Comptroller gave the total sum of contraband items for the first quarter of the year as N2,181,860,440 billion which showed an increase of N2,098,515,640 billion when compared with N83,344,800 million recorded in the first quarter of 2023.
Oramalugo stated that his area command has remained resolute in its commitment to duty and service in spite of the constraints imposed by the prevailing economic conditions.
The Comptroller noted that the seizures made by the area command operatives had been with low casualty, making it known the Act guiding their operations allows officers to seize smuggled goods at entry, distribution and storage.
He expressed appreciation to other security agencies for their collaborative efforts and partnership, while he also thanked Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State for his continuous support of the area command.
Thereafter, the Comptroller handed over the intercepted fake pharmaceutical drugs to the Director, South West, who is also the Coordinating Director of NAFDAC, Mrs Roseline Ajayi.
In her response, the Director, Mrs Ajayi appreciated the efforts of the Customs in preventing the circulation of fake pharmaceutical drugs through interception.
She said that she would hand them over to the Investigation and Enforcement Director, adding: “We will take the sample to the laboratory to be sure of what the content is, though from the packaging and the label, we can see that the drugs are fake, and the NAFDAC numbers put on them are fake.
“After laboratory analysis confirms their being fake, they will be taken for destruction at dedicated sites so that they won’t find their way back into circulation.”
She appealed to the Comptroller on the need to arrest the smugglers of the fake drugs so that their sources could be traced and tracked to curb the danger the products would pose to ignorant consumers.
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