By Umar Dankano, Yola
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, has seized contraband goods with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N79.86 million in a series of anti-smuggling operations across its area of responsibility.
The Area Comptroller, Comptroller Aminu Tanko, disclosed this at a press conference in Yola on Friday, attributing the seizures to intelligence-led operations and sustained surveillance along border corridors.
Tanko said officers carried out several operations over five weeks, targeting the movement of prohibited and restricted goods through unofficial routes.
According to him, on August 16, 2026, at about 12:21 a.m., officers acting on intelligence raided the River Benue bank along the Ribadu axis, where they discovered 451 cartons of foreign bar soap concealed in a bush near the shoreline.
He said that on August 20, officers uncovered 374 jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), each containing 25 litres, along a bush path in Sahuda, near the Nigeria-Cameroon border.
Another operation on September 14 led to the interception of a Mitsubishi Canter truck with registration number XB 566 GML along the Wuro Aihaji-Maiha axis. The vehicle was carrying 116 bags of foreign parboiled rice, each weighing 50 kilogrammes, and 50 cartons of foreign soap.
Tanko added that officers intercepted another 299 jerrycans of PMS, each containing 25 litres, along the Belel-Goshidan axis on September 21. The fuel was allegedly intended for smuggling out of the country.
The comptroller said that on October 2, officers discovered 150 bags of foreign parboiled rice, each weighing 50 kilogrammes, alongside 20 bags of local maize weighing 100 kilogrammes each. They also seized 11 bales and five jumbo sacks of second-hand clothing found along a bush path on the Maiha-Mubi axis.
Giving a summary of the seizures, Tanko listed 673 jerrycans of PMS, equivalent to 16,825 litres; 501 cartons of foreign bar soap; 266 bags of foreign parboiled rice weighing 50 kilogrammes each; 11 bales and five jumbo sacks of second-hand clothing; and a Mitsubishi Canter truck allegedly used to convey the goods.
He put the total Duty Paid Value of the seized items at N79,857,500.
The comptroller said the seizures were made under the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, particularly Sections 150, 233, 245, 246 and 248, alongside Schedule 3 of the Common External Tariff, which contains the import prohibition list.
He said the command would continue its anti-smuggling operations across its area of responsibility.