The Murtala Muhammed Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has generated N144,202, 566, 975 revenue from January to October 2024.
This shows a difference of N69,915,859,531; a 94 per cent increase from the N74,286,707,443 revenue collected in the same period in 2023.
The Public Relations Officer of the Command, Superintendent of Customs, VU Ogagbor made this known in a statement made available to Thelensng on Wednesday.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC), Comptroller Michael Toyin Awe disclosed that remarkable revenue growth during the period under review was from Customs duties and other charges.
The Controller also disclosed that the efforts to combat illicit trade yielded impressive results, with total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of seized items amounting to N3,322,239,355 between July to October 2024.
According to him, the seized items contravened some of the provisions of the extant laws as enshrined in the Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCS Act) 2023.
These items include: 23 pieces of Walkie Talkies; 175 pieces of military helmets; 50 pieces of drones; 10 Packs of Canadian cannabis sativa; 250 pieces of live turtles; seven packages of 200mg and 225mg of Tramadol Hydrochloride; 1.5kg of Pangolin scales and 0.2kg of Porcupine pins.
The CAC attributed the achievement to enhanced trade facilitation, improved stakeholder compliance, effective law enforcement, strategic resource deployment, interagency collaboration, efficient cargo clearance and intelligent risk management strategies.
He stated that to boost revenue collection, facilitate legitimate trade and curb smuggling, the Command implemented initiatives such as streamlined clearance procedures, enhanced cargo inspection and examination, improved intelligence gathering and sharing, collaboration with other security agencies, and regular stakeholder engagements.
He assured that moving forward, the Command will enhance trade facilitation measures, strengthen anti-smuggling efforts, improve stakeholder engagement and leverage on technology for efficient operations.
Comptroller Awe expressed appreciation to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and his management team for their unwavering support in carrying out official tasks effectively.
Similarly, he hailed officers and men of the command for their hard work and dedication towards achieving the feat.
CAC Awe recognised stakeholders, including importers, exporters and clearing agents for their cooperation and compliance to extant laws.
He also applauded the media for their continuous support and partnership in disseminating information to the public.
