Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, Western Marine Command, have intercepted 12,500 litres of Premium Motor Spirit known is petrol worth N8,750,000 along the Isalu Creek Badagry Waterway en route to Benin Republic.

According to a statement and pictures shared on X.com by the NCS on Sunday, the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Paul Bamisaiye, revealed this at the command’s headquarters on Friday.

The statement partly read, “At about 2330hrs on Wednesday, 8 May 2024, while on joint patrol based on credible intelligence, we received the movement of two boats laden with what was suspected to be petroleum products concealed in sacks. Upon receipt of the information, the team moved into Isalu Creeks Badagry Waterway.

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“The Customs Area Controller stated that careful examination of the seizure at the Command Headquarters revealed ‘177 sacks and 61 kegs of 25 Litres Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) containing 12,500 Liters with a total Duty Paid Value standing at N8,750,000.”

Bamisaiye was reported to have warned smugglers to desist from their acts or risk arrest, stating that the action of the smugglers contravenes Sections 245 and 254 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.

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He was quoted as saying, “There’s a strong warning to the economic importance of this kind of seizure at a time of fuel scarcity cannot be over-emphasised.

“People are suffering due to artificial scarcity, but they are busy smuggling these products outside the country to make money. It’s either they stop this act, or we continue to arrest them. We have zero tolerance for this act.”

Similarly, the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command of the NCS said it also intercepted 12,435 litres of PMS worth N10.8 million being illegally exported to Cameroon.

The Nigeria Customs Service, Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, has said it intercepted 12,435 litres of Premium Motor Spirit worth N10.8m being illegally exported to Cameroon.

In a statement on Saturday, the command said that the PMS was intercepted within two weeks.

The command added in the statement said the product was packed in 491 jerrycans, 25 litres each and eight jerrycans 20 litres each.

The Customs Area Comptroller in charge of the command, Garba Bashir, explained that the PMS was intercepted alongside the means of conveyance.

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“The officers, while on anti-smuggling operations along the command frontiers within two weeks, recorded five incidents of interception of premium motor spirit on its way to the neighbouring country, Cameroon

“The petrol and the means of conveyance were valued at NN10.8m,” he said.

The CAC stated that no suspect was arrested, adding that the perpetrators abandoned the items and absconded in an attempt to avoid arrest.

Bashir added that the seizures of the items were in line with sections 150 and 248 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, “and considering the facts that the command’s territorial borders are officially closed.”

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He stated that the petrol had been auctioned due to its inflammable nature.

He added that smuggling activities have done more harm than good to the nation.

“It hinders our national growth, strangles our trade policies with regards to revenue, foreign investment, preservation of domestic trade and growth, food security, and public security,” Bashir said.

“We want to unwaveringly tell the smugglers that our operatives are strategically repositioned along the borderlines to fasten their exit out of this illicit business,” he added.

He solicited the support of the border communities in the fight against smuggling.

The Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, Yola, of the NCS is one of the commands under Zone B Customs, headquartered in Kaduna.

A young man identified as Khalid Bichi, was on Friday night, May 10, shot dead by yet to be identified persons.

According to reports, Khalid was trailed by the men who shot him dead in the Maitama area of Abuja

The deceased was a staff of FIRS with social media X handle @Khalid_Bichi, was on his way to get food when the unfortunate incident happened. He was rushed to Maitama General Hospital where he eventually died.

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Confirming the incident to LIB, the spokesperson of the command, SP Josephine Adeh, said the matter is currently being investigated and that efforts are being made to apprehend the killers.