Listen to story here
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Area Command, generated N9.8 billion in revenue between March and May 2026, marking a sharp 448 percent increase year-on-year, in a performance that points to improving trade formalisation and tighter compliance at one of Nigeria’s busiest land borders.
According to Kaila, the command generated N9.798 billion within the review period, representing an increase of N7.61 billion over the N2.188 billion collected during the corresponding period in 2025.
The performance reflects stronger compliance enforcement, improved stakeholder cooperation, intensified anti-revenue leakage measures and operational efficiency, aided by the deployment of the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System.
“This remarkable achievement is attributable to strengthened compliance mechanisms, improved stakeholder cooperation, intensified anti-revenue leakage measures, enhanced operational efficiency, and the strategic deployment of the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System,” Comptroller Kaila said.
For businesses and investors operating across the Lagos-Badagry-Seme corridor, the figures signal a gradual rebound in formal cross-border trade activity and improved customs efficiency at a key regional trade gateway.
As one of Nigeria’s busiest land border formations, the Seme Command plays a strategic role in regional commerce under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), frameworks designed to boost trade flows across West Africa and the continent.
Kaila said the command had intensified engagement with freight forwarders, licensed customs agents, transport unions, importers, exporters, traditional institutions and security agencies to address operational bottlenecks and simplify trade procedures.
He noted that sustained stakeholder consultations and regular interface meetings had improved compliance awareness, simplified clearance procedures and strengthened trust between customs authorities and the trading public.
The command, he added, continues to support small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) seeking access to regional and international markets through guidance on export documentation and regulatory compliance, in alignment with the Federal Government’s non-oil export diversification agenda.
However, while customs deepened trade facilitation, the command also sustained intelligence-led anti-smuggling operations aimed at protecting local industries and reducing illicit trade.
Within the last three months, the command intercepted 1,000 parcels of cannabis sativa, alongside unregistered pharmaceutical products, including codeine-based cough syrups and sexual enhancement drugs lacking certification from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The seized products included Ultimate Plus Maca Syrup, 99 Bullets Herbal Medicine, Ultimate Plus Maca Sildenafil Citrate, Super Sexy Sildenafil Citrate, Machine Man Sildenafil Citrate, Bottom Up Sildenafil Citrate, Tramaking and Tempendol.
According to Kaila, the narcotics would be formally handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for investigation and prosecution, while the pharmaceutical products would be transferred to NAFDAC for regulatory action.
In separate enforcement operations, the command also recorded seizures of 2,000 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 340 kegs of vegetable oil, 103 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 993 cartons of foreign spaghetti and 250 bales of used clothing, with a combined Duty Paid Value (DPV) of ₦501.85 million.
The seizures underscore intensified border surveillance as customs seeks to curb economic sabotage, reduce unfair competition against local manufacturers and preserve market integrity.
Kaila warned smugglers and their collaborators that the Seme corridor would not serve as a safe route for illicit trade, noting that the command had significantly strengthened intelligence gathering and surveillance across land and maritime routes.
To legitimate businesses, he reiterated that compliance remained “the safest, fastest and most cost-effective pathway” for conducting international trade.
He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to sustaining revenue growth while balancing trade facilitation, border security and national economic development under the reform agenda of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR.
