Otunla’s War Against Illicit Drugs
At the Murtala Muhammed Airport Customs (MMAC) Command, Comptroller GA Otunla and his officers’ dragnet captures illicit drug smugglers resulting in the seizure of tramadol and assorted cannabis valued at N44.9 billion in a period of seven months
By Innocent Chukwu
Comptroller GA Otunla is regarded by his admirers as a complete gentleman whose actions speak louder than his word. Although not a man of many words, the Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Command (MMAC) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has repositioned the Command under his watch for higher revenue collection and anti-smuggling initiatives. Since he began to superintend over the Command’s affairs early in the year, 2026, business activities have been booming in a friendly environment.
Comptroller Otunla said the Command has dealt many bitter blows on the activities of die hard smugglers which resulted in the interception of N44.9 billion worth of illicit drugs within a period of seven months.
According to Comptroller Otunla, the illicit drugs seized included tramadol, assorted Cannabis sativa among others.
The CAC disclosed that this was as a result of intelligence network he introduced to tackle issues of hard drug smuggling at the Airport. Otunla told the executive members of the League of Maritime Editors (LOME) who paid him a courtesy visit on Wednesday, September 16 2026 that the Command has now been able to tame the smugglers in the past seven months.
Comptroller Otunla: “When I came, there was a little loggerhead with the regulatory agency, but good reason prevailed. We have been intercepting lots of such dangerous drugs, as we arrest them, we hand over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and we have stemmed the tide”.
As soon as he assumed office, Comptroller Otunla promptly began to monitor the revenue generating areas to see if there were leakages. First of all, he focused attention on the unutilized airway bills which was one of the areas the Command could suffer revenue loss due to the reason that importers can do anything to cut corners by wrapping together some of the imports as one in order to evade correct payment of duties.
Since then, there have been drastic reduction in the activities of unscrupulous elements who deploy the unutilized bills to defraud the government.
Several methods of scrutiny were also deployed to checkmate the activities of die-hard smugglers. For the CAC added, “In view of the several techniques employed for smuggling, we also introduced several layers of checks. Our officers have kept eagle eyes on whatever happens to ensure that the issues of unutilized bills are identified”.
Smugglers can device unexpected tactics to achieve their nefarious aims. For example, they can operate in cahoots with unpatriotic terminal operators to take their goods without declaration. Such actions can be frustrating. However, Comptroller Otunla remains a master strategist in the act of detecting any foul means used by the most intelligent smuggler. In this regard, Otunla said, the Command decided to maintain constant surveillance on every activity that happens in the process of cargo clearance which gives the Command’s operatives several steps ahead smugglers’ plots. He revealed that part of the system to overcome smugglers’ antics is the automation of the system and processes of clearing cargoes, adding that the automation of the entire system would reduce smuggling activities drastically.
Revenue generation is one aspect of the Command’s mandates very close to the heart of Comptroller Otunla. In the month of August alone, the Customs chief said over N16 billion was generated. He added that in one of the weeks in the month of September, the cargo Command achieved its highest daily revenue generation since it was established. According to the CAC, a total of N3.5 billion was collected. Otunla said the collection represented 307 per cent rise against the N1.6 billion normal daily revenue.
The leadership of Comptroller Otunla since its inception has focused attention on trade facilitation, national security, revenue generation and welfare of officers. Unnecessary delays have been avoided because of the delicate nature of airport cargoes. Thus, “Airport is a peculiar command because most of the spare parts for industries come through here and we render urgent services. We ensure the processes for release of goods are not delayed”, Comptroller Otunla said.
