Customs seize N13m worth of PMS, other goods in Adamawa

Taraba and Adamawa states Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) made 19 seizures in October with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of over N13 million.

During a press conference, yesterday, in Yola, the Area Comptroller, Kazure Abdullahi, said the seizure was in line with the provisions of the NCS to regulate movement of banned items in and outside the country.

The seized items include 15,449 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in 17×200 litres drums, 475×25 litres and 6×35 litres jerry cans. Others are 19 cartons of foreign insecticides and 26x59kg bags of foreign parboiled rice.

He said: “Illicit source and trade on crude oil and its by-products had inflicted remarkable economic loss on Nigerians and lawful stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.

“On the account of the inflammable nature of the PMS, most of it had been disposed of in accordance with the extant laws and the accrued proceeds remitted into the Federation Account.”

A fraction of the PMS remaining was auctioned to the general public immediately after the press conference.

Abdullahi added: “The seizure of the PMS is on account of the contravention of Section 246 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and considering the fact that the territorial borders of the command still remain officially closed.

“Let me add that, immediately after this conference, we will conduct and witness the destruction of the seized raw donkey skin that was earlier apprehended by the enforcement units of the service on the September 1, 2023 at Sahuda, Nigeria/Cameroon border.

This destruction would be done in accordance with Schedule 15 of Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, the same way some of us here had witnessed the destruction of the illicit and counterfeit drugs, yesterday.”