Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has generated N1,751,502,252,298.05 revenue in the first quarter of 2025, even as rice seizures led the metrics for anti-smuggling operations with 135,474 bags of rice intercepted by the Service.
The Comptroller-General of NCS, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, disclosed this on Tuesday during a press briefing on the NCS activities for the first quarter of the year 2025.
“With NCS’s annual target of N6,580,000,000,000.00, the first quarter’s proportional benchmark stood at N1,645,000,000,000.00. I’m proud to announce we’ve exceeded this target by N106.5 billion, achieving 106.47% of our quarterly projection. This outstanding performance represents a substantial 29.96% increase compared to the same period in 2024, where we collected N1,347,705,251,658.31.
“Our month-by-month analysis reveals even more encouraging details of this growth trajectory. January’s collection of N647,880,245,243.67 not only surpassed its monthly target of N548.33 billion by 18.12%, but also showed a remarkable 65.77% year-on-year growth. February’s N540,105,439,535.18 exceeded its target by 1.3% while achieving 19.97% growth over 2024 figures. March maintained this positive trend with N563,516,567,519.20, delivering 2.7% above target and an 11.22% improvement over March 2024,” he said.
The Customs boss posited that these results substantiate NCS effective measures to curb revenue losses while streamlining compliant trade as the 29.96% annual increase and steady monthly collections underlines its winning strategy.
Meanwhile, Customs maintained robust anti-smuggling operations during the first quarter of 2025, recording 298 seizures with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N7,698,557,347.67, representing 78.41% increase compared to the N4,315,162,568.35 recorded in Q4 2024, demonstrating heightened operational effectiveness.
However, when compared to Q1 2024 N9,587,256,998.05, the Service observed a 19.70% reduction in DPV, attributable to improved compliance through sustained stakeholder engagement and the deterrent effect of our enforcement activities.
“Rice remained the most prevalent seized commodity, with 159 cases involving 135,474 bags valued at N939,309,698.00. Petroleum products followed with 61 seizures totaling 65,819 liters (N43,336,160.81 DPV). Of particular note were 22 narcotics interceptions valued at N730,748,173.00, reflecting our intensified focus on combating drug trafficking. The Service also recorded three high-value wildlife product seizures with a remarkable N5,653,522,600.00 DPV, underscoring both the lucrative nature of this illegal trade and our commitment to environmental protection under international conventions.
“Other notable seizures included textile fabrics (13 cases, N134,219,330.00 DPV), retreaded tires (5 cases, N104,599,000.00 DPV), and pharmaceuticals (1 case, N17,188,000.00 DPV). These comprehensive results demonstrate the Service’s vigilance across all categories of prohibited and restricted goods.”
Adeniyi asserted that the seizure trends highlight several strategic priorities including; enhanced border surveillance; specialized operations targeting high-value wildlife trafficking, building on existing collaborations with UNODC and other international partners; sustained focus on dangerous narcotics and pharmaceutical smuggling; and implementation of advanced non-intrusive inspection technology.
He, however, assured that trade facilitation remains a core focus of NCS operations, stating that Service processed a total of 327,928 Single Goods Declarations (SGDs) for imports, handling goods with a total mass of 4,910,640,283.33 kilograms and a Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value of N14,807,960,201,235.00, representing a 5.28% increase in the number of import transactions compared to the 311,492 SGDs processed in Q1 2024.
The total trade value handled by the Service in Q1 2025 amounted to N36,317,925,576,290.00, demonstrating Nigeria’s substantial participation in international trade despite global economic challenges.
Adeniyi listed some of the Service significant milestones to include; modernization exploits via B’Odogwu Platform Expansion, Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) Programme, as well as robust Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes.
