At the time of producing this report, another information reaching this media had it that Seme border under Comptroller Dera Nnadi mni kept faith with their promise of beating the revenue target for the command for 2023 which is N1,966,000,000 but as at September 15, the command has collected N2,088,578,048 only.The outgone Customs Area Controller of Seme border Area Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi mni, made a startling remark that the smugglers celebrating his redeployment met their waterloo when his operatives acting on credible intelligence intercepted 1,364 of 30 liters jerrycans of Petroleum Motor Spirit PMS equivalent to 40,800 litres over one tanker load with a DPV of N24,663,355 at the early hours of Friday, September 8, 2023 along the Badagry Coast. He made this known while briefing the media on the activities of his Command for the period under review at the command’s headquarters at Seme Krake border. He said the achievement was as a result of painstaking efforts made in partnership with stakeholders. In this press briefing which could be regarded as a lecture, he enlightened the journalists that Seme krake is a unique route and also a “component of the Lagos-Kano-Jibiya (LAKAJI) corridor which extends from Lagos through Ogun, Oyo, Kwara, Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Kastina states in Nigeria. The LAKAJI corridor compliments the trade route from Abidjan through Cotonou to Niamey and even to Libya and Egypt. The significant of this corridor as an economic, cultural and political platform for regional integration of West Africa cannot be over emphasized.”He went further to give in details other trading connection of this foremost land border to the ECOWAS, Central Africa and the Sahel region on a coordinated network. “Seme Area Command advantageously lies on the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor (ALCO) which connects Lagos-Cotonou-Lomé-Accra-Abidjan. With a population of over 350 million people, this corridor and indeed the Command accounts for about 70 per cent of the transit traffic in the ECOWAS sub-region,” he said. Comptroller Nnadi mni who resumed duty on the 23 of January, 2023 at Seme border came up with new strategies to boost trade while enforcing the nation’s anti-smuggling laws at the foremost premier border. He carried this out by making amends with the freight forwarders who were already been eaten up by their frustrations.According to him, “Several factors have been adjudged to hamper trade (between Nigeria and her proximate neighbour) within the sub-region especially transit trade across the countries and along the corridor. There have been several complaints by operators against the closure of the borders, the non-adherence to transit agreements signed under the ECOWAS, World Trade Organisation (WTO), World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff.”The highlight of the day was the seizures and the impressive revenue generation made by the Area command between January to September 2023. The officers of the command intercepted different seized items with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N1.8 billion from January 23rd to September 8th 2023. One other stunning observation was the huge seizure of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) despite the removal of subsidy on the petroleum product in Nigeria.Giving a breakdown, the outgoing Area Controller said they include 9,500 50kg of rice, equivalent to 16 trailer loads of foreign parboiled rice, with a Duty Paid Value of N312.2 million.“Six Thousand Five Hundred and Sixty-Nine (9500) 50kg bags of rice equivalent to sixteen (16) trailer loads of foreign parboiled rice with Duty Paid Value of N312, 242, 064.93k. 13, 835 x 30 liters Jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit equivalent to 415, 050 liters or 13 petroleum tankers with Duty Paid Value of 738,276, 461k. 15,389 of General Merchandise Goods. Hard Drugs and Narcotics: 41 parcels of Cannabis Sativa, 4,900 Tablets 225mg of Tramadol Tamol-X, 3,600 Tablets 225mg Tramadol Royal 225, 157 Tablets of Heineken Ecstacy, 864 Packs of Cigarette “In the same vein, Officers and Men of the Command acting on credible intelligence intercepted One Thousand Three Hundred and Sixty Four (1,364) 30 Liters Jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit equivalent to forty thousand eight hundred (40,800) litres over one Tanker Load and with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of (N24, 663, 355) only at the early hours of Friday 8th September, 2023 along the Badagry Coast“The duty paid value for items seized for the period January to 8th September 2023 is One Billion, Eight Hundred and Twenty-Seven Million, Three Hundred and Sixty-Two Thousand, Six Hundred and Nineteen Naira (1, 827, 362, 619. 00),” he said.On revenue, Comptroller Nnadi mni was of high spirit as he praised his officers on the wonderful achievement of 97.2 percent of the expected revenue target for the year. According to him “the revenue target for the Command for the year 2023 is One Billion Nine Hundred and Sixty Million Naira Only. As at this morning the 8th of September, 2023 the Command has collected One Billion Nine Hundred and Four Million, Four Hundred and Fifty-Nine Thousand, Three Hundred and Ninety Naira, Seventy-Seven Kobo (N1,904,459, 390.77) only. This represents 97.2% of N1,960,000,000 allotted target for the year 2023.“In the corresponding period under review for year 2022, the revenue was Eight Hundred and Eighty-Five Million, Five Hundred and Forty-Three Thousand, Ninety-Eight Naira Eleven Kobo (N885,543,098.11) The implication is that the Commands revenue profile witnessed a tremendous increase of N1, 018,916, 292. 33 (51.98%).At this juncture he presented the officers who made the seizure of the fake $60m with commendation letters from the Acting Comptroller General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.“In addition to the above, in line with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) dictate of encouraging its personnel, the Officers and Men of the Command that were involved in the seizures of fake Six million USD ($6,000,000) currency, Fifteen (15) fake international passports and Ten (10) Driver’s license, and that of Donkey skins in January, 2023 have been commended by the Ag. Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, dsm, fnipr, psc (+).” Their Commendation letters and Congratulatory letters from the Command were presented to the beneficiaries at the press briefing. Finally, he appreciated the Comptroller General of Customs for his support to the Command and also appreciate the Seme Badagry Community for their cooperation and to officers and men of the Command for their gallantry and patriotism. “Our greatest appreciation goes to the media for highlighting our modest effort in Seme Area Command, thank you and God bless you all,” he concludes.
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