….Generates N1.3bn import duty on seizures

THE Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has declared a fresh crackdown on the illicit importation of vegetable oil unveiling plans to launch intelligence led special operations to shield domestic agricultural investments and salvage thousands of local jobs.

Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, made this known at an operational strategy high level meeting with major players in the vegetable oil industry at the Customs Headquarters yesterday in Abuja.

Adeniyi said that the service is recalibrating its border enforcement architecture to decisively dismantle smuggling syndicates, maintaining that state revenue protection and the survival of local agribusinesses remain inextricably linked.

He pointed that containing cross border economic sabotage requires an active intelligence sharing between regulatory agencies and the private sector particularly within the manufacturing and agricultural value chains.

He said “Fighting smuggling is a continuous process that requires intelligence, policy support and collaboration.

“We value constructive engagement with stakeholders and will continue to strengthen our partnership with the private sector.”

Reviewing recent operational milestones, the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Enforcement, Inspection, and Investigation, Timi Bomodi, disclosed that heightened surveillance along key international trade corridors has already yielded massive seizures.

Bomodi revealed that customs field operatives intercepted significant consignments of illegal vegetable oil along the Seme and Idiroko border frontiers, dealing a major blow to the financial infrastructure of the smugglers.

“We recorded about 65 seizures of vegetable oil products in 2025 and another 23 seizures in 2026 with a combined Duty Paid Value of approximately N1.314 billion,” Bomodi stated, adding that maritime and land surveillance would be intensified across all vulnerable coastal locations.

Founder of Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria, Dr Fatai Afolabi, commended the customs management for prioritizing stakeholder dialogue, but warned that the domestic market remains fragile due to unfair foreign competition.

According to him, “Smuggling of vegetable oil will undermining local production, discouraging investment and threatening thousands of jobs across the value chain.”

Dr Afolabi urged the service to sustain its aggressive border sweeps to prevent the collapse of local oil palm plantations.