Customs seizes 56 containers of prohibited items worth N5.53bn

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has confiscated 56 containers of prohibited items, valued at an estimated N5.53 billion, in a recent operation. Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi announced this during a press conference at the Port Harcourt II Area Command in Onne, Rivers State. Adeniyi explained that these seizures are part of the agency's intelligence-driven and risk-based efforts to prevent the entry of prohibited, restricted, and improperly declared goods into Nigeria.

He noted that unchecked imports of locally producible items exert undue pressure on Nigerian farmers, manufacturers, and other domestic producers. Such unchecked competition weakens demand for locally produced goods, discourages investment in domestic value chains, and poses a significant threat to the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.

Adeniyi emphasized that large-scale imports of locally producible products could undermine the Federal Government's objectives of promoting local industries, enhancing food security, generating jobs, and diversifying the economy.