Customs Intercepts $1.26m Smuggled Currencies, Secures Convictions

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has announced a stakeholders meeting by the weekend over the 14 per cent tariff on Nigeria’s exports to the United States, imposed due to longstanding trade imbalances and import restrictions that the U.S. government deemed unfair.

Adeniyi disclosed this during a question and answer session with journalists at a press briefing on the first quarter report held at the Customs headquarters in Abuja.

According to him, Nigeria is adopting a measured and diplomatic approach to resolving the issue.

“Nigeria has been calm about this, consultations are in progress, spearheaded by the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment,” he said.

He noted that “14 per cent has been fined on Nigeria” and emphasized that “some of the tariff structures applied to twelve countries have also been paid, which has also provoked different reactions from those countries.”

According to him, two frameworks are being considered to tackle the new development.

He said, “What we are trying to do in Nigeria is to divulge the regional approach that takes into consideration what will be our response in the region, and also the response that takes into consideration the interest of Nigeria’s economy.”

He assured that Nigeria, as ECOWAS Chair, is carefully reviewing the situation.

He said, “Nigeria has decided to look at all the issues that are involved and make wise consultations before stakeholders through the FMITI in the next few days.”

In the area of trade integration, Adeniyi said Nigeria is intensifying its participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“Just last week Nigeria officially gazetted the schedule of Paris Concessions under this free trade, so it becomes legal for Nigerian businesses and operators to trade under AfCFTA, reap benefits, and get market access” he highlighted.

He further noted two key developments taking place simultaneously to support intra-African trade.

According to him, “AFREXIMBANK is working on the payment system to remove all programmes that are restricted via payments when African countries decide to trade together.

“While Nigeria has been given the lead to ensure that all African customs and registrations take measures to approve the processes and backups in place, to support the implementations of AfCFTA.”

Adeniyi expressed optimism that these reforms would stimulate Nigerian exports, saying, “If we look at the processes of customs, we can work on the transits, tariff concession, payment system of Afrexim, and tax processing system gazetted”.

Further expressing optimism, Adeniyi said in the next three quarters, the volume and destination of trade from Nigeria will increase.

Adeniyi also addressed persistent fuel smuggling despite the removal of subsidy, revealing that a price disparity continues to incentivize cross-border diversion of fuel.

“Despite the removal of the subsidy, we discovered that it is still profitable for smugglers to take fuel from Nigeria. We know prices are dynamic, currently reducing between N800/N900 per litre. In Cameroon, it is close to N2,000 per litre. In Niger Republic, it is about N1,600 per litre, same in Benin Republic and the like,” he said.

To tackle this, the Customs Service launched Operation Whirlwind, which was initially designed as a short-term intervention.

However, Adeniyi said the results have shown the need to keep it running despite its cost. “The operation was meant to be kept despite the high resources needed to sustain that program,” he explained.

On the issue of currency smuggling, the Comptroller-General revealed significant interceptions in the first quarter.

During this quarter, Adeniyi said the service had two major interceptions—airports and borders.

In terms of the value of interception, he said the service recovered $1.26m, £117,660, and 135,900 Saudi Riyals, with two convictions this year.

He stressed that the goal was not just about the amount recovered.

“For us, it is not the value of interception, but convictions both at the Lagos International Airport and the Kano Airport, and we are positive that the third case will result in conviction.”

He noted these efforts as part of a broader strategy to “ensure that Nigeria is removed from the grave list of countries notorious for smuggling currencies and other related offences.”

Customs Intercepts $1.26m Smuggled Currencies, Secures Convictions is first published on The Whistler Newspaper