The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, has declared total war on smugglers in Nigeria, urging them to seek alternative means of livelihood.
Represented in Yola on Friday by the National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, Deputy Comptroller Abubakar Aliyu, he said that the strategic operations against smuggling along Nigeria’s frontiers are aimed at safeguarding food, energy, and national security to ensure national stability in line with the core mandates of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu.
“Our gathering today is centred on showcasing and celebrating the successes recorded by the operatives of Operation Whirlwind, Zone ‘D’ axis, through ongoing anti-smuggling, intelligence-driven operations aimed at disrupting smuggling syndicates in accordance with the enabling laws”, he said.
According to him, to maintain the momentum, the unit had repositioned all its machinery across its area of coverage in collaboration with other sister agencies for effective border management.
“Within the period of six (6) weeks, Operation Whirlwind Zone ‘D’ axis of the Nigeria Customs Service recorded huge success in terms of seizures of goods that were illegally exported on different dates, times, and locations following intelligence-driven operations.
“During the weeks under review, the unit made forty-seven (47) instances of seizures from different locations at different times and dates within Adamawa State, with a monetary value of ninety-three million, twenty-nine thousand, eight hundred naira (N93,029,800.00) only”, Adeniyi continued.
He said the seizures were made across various smuggling flashpoints in Adamawa State on different dates and times.
“The locations include Mubi-Sahuda axis, Farang-Belel, Gurin-Fufore axis, Maihia, Muva, and Pariya-Wuro Bokki axis. The seized items include 64,410 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, packed in 2,550 jerry cans of 25 litres each and three drums of 220 litres capacity intended to be smuggled out of the country. Two used vehicles, used as means of conveyance for some of the seized PMS”, he added.
He pointed out that the seizures were effected in contravention of sections 150, 248 and 250 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
“The operatives equally acted in accordance with section 226 of the NCS Act, 2023, which gives them power to patrol freely in order to apprehend these goods.
“Additionally, the unit intercepted a used DAF fuel tanker conveying PMS on Wednesday, 15th April 2026 at about 0026hrs along Mubi–Uba road following intelligence-driven operations on the ground of product diversion.
“In the spirit of inter-agency cooperation as enshrined in section 55 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, the truck loaded with 50,000 litres of PMS will be handed over to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) immediately after this press conference for further action”, he said.
Aliyu said that despite the recent price increase of petroleum products, especially Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries, such as Cameroon, Benin Republic and others, remain substantially higher than in Nigeria, in spite of Nigeria’s own price increases as a result of deregulation.
He blamed the price gap as the primary driver of smuggling activities.
He added, “For instance, as of today in Cameroon and the Benin Republic, the average price of PMS per litre stands at 840 XAF (N2,196) and 695 CFA (N1,709) respectively, as against N1,330 in Nigeria.
“For example, a smuggler who successfully moves, say 60,000 litres of PMS across Nigeria into the Republic of Cameroon stands to make a huge amount of money at the detriment of the country’s economy”, he concluded.
