Acting Customs Area Controller (CAC) of Ogun 1 Command, Idiroko in Ogun State, OO Afeni restates his commitment to eradicating smuggling activities within the areas of his Command’s coverage, vowing that “We’ll make sure smugglers pay through their nose by seizing their goods”
By Innocent Chukwu
The Ogun 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Idiroko, has made a swift move within the last six weeks to rein in the activities of smugglers in the country.
The move resulted in the of numerous items that has depleted the economic power of die-hard smugglers. The seizures which came in various kinds were worth N1.350 million.
This is as the acting Customs Area Controller(CAC) of the Command, Deputy Comptroller Oladapo Afeni vowed that the security of the Idiroko border post is one of his priorities at the moment.
The unrelenting and intensified anti-smuggling operations along the Nigeria’s South western border, the command said, is yielding tremendous results.
According to Afeni, the seizures worth ₦1.35 billion within six weeks under the command’s renewed campaign against smuggling, represented the quest to exterminate the activities of the economic saboteurs in the country.
AFENI who spoke during a press briefing at Idiroko on Monday, March 16, 2026,
said the command had sustained strong operational momentum since his pledge on January 29, 2026, to wage a relentless battle against smuggling activities in the border corridor.
According to the CAC, the latest briefing was intended to provide an update on that commitment, with intelligence-led operations and coordinated patrols already yielding major interceptions.
The CAC said the command working in line with the Comptroller General’s mandate, will do all within its power to ensure smuggling collapsed , suppressed completely.
One of the major seizures was a truck loaded with 2,539 kegs of smuggled vegetable oil, each containing 25 litres, intercepted on March 11, 2026, along the Agbara axis. The truck, bearing registration number APP470YD, was reportedly tracked and intercepted following credible intelligence.
According to the CAC, preliminary investigations on this seizure revealed that the vegetable oil was smuggled into Nigeria through waterways using small boats before being transported inland by road.
In another onslaught on March 4, 2026, the command’s operatives intercepted a Sino truck carrying 4,325 cartons of foreign spaghetti, each weighing 10 kilograms, underscoring what officials described as the persistent smuggling of staple food items into the country.
The workaholic Afeni told journalists that the operations formed part of broader efforts to protect local industries, especially Nigeria’s vegetable oil producers, from unfair competition posed by illicit imports.
Other seizures included,
1,204 bags of foreign parboiled rice
2,547 parcels of cannabis sativa
5,455 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) totaling 13,625 litres,
four live pangolins,
36 cartons of cough syrup,
8 packs of perfume oil,
13 pieces of used tyres,
5 bags of imported sugar,
8 bales of second-hand clothing,
15 sacks of used clothing,
5 sacks of used handbags and
two sacks of used footwear. Others were
two used vehicles and
two antiquities.
The seized pangolins have since been transferred to the National Wildlife Conservation Centre for proper handling and preservation.
“The total value is N1,350,751,000.00 (one billion, three hundred and fifty million, seven hundred and fifty-one thousand naira only)”.
In line with inter-agency collaboration, the command also handed over 2,547 parcels of cannabis sativa to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further investigation and prosecution.
The seized narcotics comprised 2,055 coconut-sized parcels weighing about 710 kilograms and 15 bread-sized parcels weighing approximately 381 kilograms. The handover was made to the Idiroko Special Command of the NDLEA.
The command also transferred two confiscated historical artifacts to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) after an expert appraisal confirmed their cultural significance.
The acting Controller, Afeni said that the antiquities will be preserved at the National Museum in Abeokuta, Ogun State, to prevent the loss of valuable national heritage
Beyond enforcement, the command recorded notable gains in revenue generation and trade facilitation.
Within the six-week review period, the Idiroko Command generated ₦285,652,469 through baggage assessments and auction sales of seized petroleum products.
Afeni said the figure represented a significant increase compared to the corresponding period in 2025, reflecting improved operational efficiency and greater compliance with customs procedures.
Afeni added that smugllers are trying various strategies in their smuggling operations but they will remain unsuccessful because the command is determined and is ready to fight it out with them, assuring the economic saboutoers that the operatives of the command will remain undeterred.
In export, the command recorded a huge success, recording 95 metric tons of goods, moving with Free On Board (FOB) value of N305,000,749.60k.
This, the CAC said represents a substernal year on year improvement compare to the same period in 2925, which saw low or zero in export trade.
“I wish to commend the efforts of the collaborating government agencies,” the CAC concluded.
