The Nigeria Customs Service has seized 56 containers containing products with a combined duty-paid value of ₦5.53bn at the Port Harcourt Area II Command in Onne, Rivers State.
The containers were laden with vegetable oil, used clothing and foreign tomato paste, which Customs said were illegally imported and concealed under declarations of machinery and spare parts.
The consignments were imported through the Onne Free Trade Zone, where the Customs Service said some operators had been abusing concessions granted by the Federal Government to promote investment and local production.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed the seizures on Tuesday during a briefing in Onne, where he also inspected the intercepted containers.
According to Adeniyi, the largest seizure involved 45 containers of Delicious Pur vegetable oil, each containing 1,050 jerry cans of 25 litres.
The vegetable oil had a combined duty-paid value of ₦4.2525bn.
Adeniyi said the consignments had been declared as machinery and spare parts, but physical examination revealed that they contained vegetable oil.
He said the circumstances surrounding the importation suggested that the goods were intended for the Nigerian market rather than for manufacturing activities within a free trade zone.
“The remarkable thing about these containers is that they were declared as machinery and spare parts,” Adeniyi said.
“When we discovered them during physical examination, we found vegetable oil, and it is obvious that the intention of the importer was not to take them to free trade zones for any manufacturing activities, but to introduce them into our local markets.”
The Customs boss said the command also intercepted nine 40-foot containers of used clothing valued at ₦1.045bn in duty-paid terms.
Two additional 20-foot containers containing foreign tomato paste were seized, with a stated duty-paid value of ₦232m.
Adeniyi said the vegetable oil and used clothing were seized for allegedly contravening Sections 55 and 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
He said the seizures followed intelligence gathering and risk-based analysis of importers operating through the Onne port and associated economic zones.
According to him, the Federal Government created free trade and special economic zones to encourage investment, manufacturing and exports, while providing incentives including duty-free importation of plants, raw materials and machinery.
However, he said some importers had allegedly exploited the concessions by bringing restricted goods into the country under the cover of free-zone privileges before diverting them to the domestic market.
Adeniyi warned that such practices could undermine local manufacturers and farmers, deprive the government of legitimate revenue and create public-health and security concerns.
He said the owners of the seized consignments would face prosecution after investigations in line with relevant laws.
“What we have done in the interception of these containers is aimed at safeguarding Nigeria’s economic interests, protecting public health, supporting domestic production and ensuring compliance with the country’s import laws and regulations,” he said.
Customs inaugurates renovated health centre
Also on Tuesday, Adeniyi inaugurated the reconstructed Ebubu Health Centre in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The facility was renovated by the Port Harcourt Area II Command under the Customs Service’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme.
Adeniyi commended the command’s Area Controller, Aliyu Alkali, for implementing the directive for Customs formations to undertake community-focused CSR projects.
He said the initiative formed part of the NCS Customs Care programme, through which the service has supported schools, healthcare facilities and other community projects.
The Comptroller-General urged residents of Ebubu to take ownership of the renovated health centre and protect it from vandalism.
Alkali said the facility had previously been abandoned and that some of its equipment had been looted before the Customs intervention.
He said the renovation would reduce the burden on residents seeking healthcare services and demonstrate the command’s commitment to communities within its operational area.
The Director of Medical Services of the Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Dr Tonye Lawson-Jack, thanked the Customs Service for the intervention and assured residents that the board had adequate manpower to provide services at the facility.
