‘Our Priority Is To Combat Economic Sabotage, Plug National Security’ Oladeji

BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

Compt. Oladeji middle, NDLEA Reps left, Unit PRO Hussein O. plus other officers during the press briefing on Wednesday

The Controller of Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Comptroller Kola Oladeji has said that officers and men of the NCS never sets out to engage the society in any form of gun duel or shooting, reiterating that such rare scenario is usually to ward off perceived threats to lives of its personnel engaged in statutory customs duty.

Some of thje seized items on display

Oladeji who made the explanation on Wednesday, March 26, 2025   while briefing news men on the activities of the Unit at its warehouse in Ikeja Lagos, lamented that most seizures made by his officers without arrests of the suspected smugglers is in sync with the respect for human lives by the NCS, as he has trained his officers to focus more on intercepting questionable goods and items through the application of professional tactics and behaviour; while zeroing in on the Rules of Engagement(ROE), as a guiding principal even at the theatre of economic war.

Handing over of illicit substances

“Let me answer your question and observation about suspects in proper perspective. Yes, we have very limited number of suspects compared to the massive seizures, this is because we focus more on achieving seizures of goods in violation of the prohibition rules.

“My officers and men are out there are often provoked and sometimes even attacked, but we concentrate more on catching unlawful goods and items, that is the training l gave to them…l address and sensitize them almost on weekly basis, the only time they resort to use of firearm is when the situation becomes extremely dangerous and my officers lives are at risk. At that point they must apply the ROE otherwise shooting is not an option, these misguided smugglers are Nigerians and human beings, so, we are very careful how to achieve a gun free operation as much as we can”, the FOU Zone A boss declared.

This is even as he announced the arrest of 6 suspects connected with some of the seizures.

An astute manager of men and resources, Comptroller Oladeji said the Unit under his watch will prioritize national security and compliance while fully committed to trade facilitation in a team spirit approach with resident commands and other special units  of the service.

“The operatives of FOU ‘A’ has intensified surveillance of our borders within the south-western states of Nigeria. These onslaught against the activities of economic saboteurs in areas of the service key performance indicators (KPI) which includes revenue generation, suppression of smuggling and facilitation of legitimate trade have continued to record significant successes through our on-going operations code named ” Swift Sting Operations” and efforts of other patrol teams.”

Comptroller Oladeji who disclosed that the Unit recorded a total of eight-two (82) interceptions within the month of March 2025, also explained that most of the seized items are from the Oyo axis bothering the Shaki-Igboho axis, with others from across locations in the South West, including Seme Border axis.

He listed the seized items to include 3, 832 X 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice, equivalent to 7 trailer loads; 27 units of used vehicles also known as tukumbo vehicles; 494 Jerry cans of Premium Motor Spirit(PMS), equivalent to 14,820 litres;  27 bales of already used clothing; 95 bags of charcoal; and 3,643kg of cannabis sativa.

According to the FOU Zone A helmsman, “These seizures have a cumulative duty paid value (DPV) of one billion, seven hundred and twenty million, two hundred and fourteen thousand, six hundred and forty-nine Naira (N1, 720, 214,649.00) only.”

Taking a holistic overview of the Unit’s first quarter activities under his watch, Oladeji said he’s optimistic of further degrading the thriving illegal activities within and along the zone’s trans-border route; noting that there the FOU and the NCS in general will not negotiate its mandate on fighting smuggling, generating revenue and enhancing trade facilitation.

“The successes recorded so far this year were not made on a platter of gold. It took the painstaking efforts of our officers who spent hours on patrol and surveillance of our borders to achieve these seizures. Let me reiterate that we will not relent on our oars. Our resolve and commitment to tame the activities of illegal trans-border trade and other crime remains sacrosanct.

“The unit will continue to dialogue, engage, sensitize and educate the public on social/ economic implication of smuggling as well as performing statutory function of enforcing compliance in line with government fiscal policy.”

The anti-smuggling customs chief who also handed over seized illicit substances to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), said the Unit will continue to take complementary advantage of synergy that exists amongst sister agencies and host communities in successfully carrying out its activities; in line with the existing standards operating procedures (SOP).

“In line with the dictates of the Nigeria Customs Service of promoting inter-agency cooperation and synergy, the seized 3,643kg of cannabis sativa will be handed over to the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency for further investigation and subsequent prosecution.

“Let me at this time appreciate the collaborative efforts of other sister agencies in the fight against smuggling and appeal for their continuous support.”

Giving reports of the Unit’s revenue performance through revenue recovery for the period under review, Oladeji said: “The unit recovered a total sum of seventy-two million, four hundred and forty-two thousand, five hundred and twenty-six Naira, seventy-three kobo (N72, 442,526.73) only, through issuance of Demand Notices (DN) as a result of irregular declaration of consignments.

“The unit will continue to enforce the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 as it relates to import and export goods to prevent revenue losses.”

On trade facilitation, he said the Unit will continue to execute and implement all trade tools tied to the specific agenda of the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) .

“The Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR dsm fnipr psc(+) since coming onboard has rolled-out numbers of trade facilitation tools to help boost our revenue and grow the economy. Trade facilitation tools such as Time Release Study (TRS), Advance Ruling and the recently launched Authorize Economic Operator (AEO) have increasingly boost investors confidence and efficiency of customs operations.

“This unit has since keyed into these laudable initiatives of the CGC by collapsing some patrol teams operating within Lagos metropolis. This is aim at removing unnecessary trade impediments and facilitates business friendly environment.

“We thank the CGC and his management team, officers and men of the Unit, community leaders and partner government agencies who are showing concern and collaborating with the service for the continuous support. We also thank the media for their objectives reportage on our operations.”