Joyce Mmereole Okoli
The Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has dismissed an online publication accusing its officers of misconduct along the Lagos–Abidjan corridor, describing the claims as “misleading, unfounded and deliberately crafted to discredit lawful operations.”
In a statement issued on Monday, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Customs Isah Sulaiman, said the report does not reflect the realities of ongoing security operations under Comptroller Wale Adenuga, who took over leadership of the Command in September 2025.
Sulaiman noted that border enforcement has been considerably strengthened in recent months through enhanced collaboration with the Nigerian Military and other security agencies.
He added that the reactivation of the Joint Border Security Meeting (JBSM) has improved intelligence-sharing and joint operations, resulting in what he described as one of the Command’s most impactful enforcement periods in recent years.
With intensified operations ahead of the festive season, the Command said it is not surprised that criminal networks disrupted by its activities are resorting to misinformation and sensational online narratives.
It stressed, however, that such tactics will not derail officers from carrying out their statutory responsibilities.
According to performance records released by the Command, officers made several high-profile interceptions between September 9 and the present date.
These include more than 4,000 bags of 50kg smuggled foreign parboiled rice, equivalent to seven trailer loads, five trailer loads of expired flour, endangered wildlife species such as a lion cub and patas monkeys, and over 2,000 parcels of Cannabis Sativa, among other items.
“These seizures underscore the Command’s renewed operational drive to safeguard Nigeria’s economic and security interests,” the statement noted.
The Command also recorded a dramatic surge in revenue generation, with monthly collections rising from a previous average of ₦500–600 million to ₦1.5 billion in September and surpassing ₦2.5 billion in October, a growth of more than 300%.
This improvement was attributed to tightened border checks, the closure of revenue leakages, and enhanced facilitation of legitimate trade.
Reaffirming its commitment to professionalism and zero tolerance for corruption, the Seme Area Command said it would continue to enforce national security and trade compliance mandates with the support of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and the Service’s management.
The Command urged the public to disregard false reports and rely only on verified information from credible sources.