Customs seizes 56 containers in Rivers

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has seized 56 containers in the Onne Port, Rivers State, filled with vegetable oil, assorted used clothing, and tomato paste, with a total Duty Paid Value surpassing N5.53 billion. Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adeniyi revealed this detail during a press conference in Port Harcourt. The containers, initially declared as machinery, plants and spare parts by importers, were later identified as vegetable oil, used clothing, and tomato paste.

The NCS seized these containers after a targeted review focusing on cargoes bound for Free Trade Zones, uncovering an exploitation of incentives granted by the Federal Government. The seized containers included 45 vessels loaded with over 1.1 million liters of vegetable oil, valued at N4,252,500,000, along with nine 40-foot containers of used clothing, worth N1,045,580,000, and two 20-foot containers of foreign tomato paste, valued at N232,000,000.

Adeniyi explained that the containers were falsely declared to divert them from the Free Trade Zones to the local market. The NCS plans to initiate court processes for condemnation and forfeiture, as well as conduct a comprehensive audit of containers transferred to the Tinapa Free Trade Zone. The Comptroller-General also inaugurated a reconstructed Primary Healthcare Centre in Ebubu, Eleme local government area of Rivers State.