Uche Usim, Abuja
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Friday released its 2018 operational statistics, saying it recorded 5,235 contraband seizures with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N61,543,633,401.31.
The Service also said it generated N1,202,271,240,478.30 as at December 31, 2018.
The revenue figure is N164,897,273,077.50 higher than the 2017 collection which was N1,037,373,967,400.80.
In a statement, the spokesman of Customs, Joseph Attah, quoted the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd) as saying that the feat was achieved as a result of dogged pursuit of what was right; rather than sacrificing national interest to satisfy the selfish desires of some influential but unpatriotic Nigerians.
Attah added that the increasing annual revenue generation from the Service in the last three years was as a result of various reforms like the upgrade of the electronic systems from Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System I (NICIS I) to NICIS II which has blocked leakages.
“Another is the strategic deployment of manpower, strict enforcement of extant guidelines by the tariff and trade department, robust stakeholder engagement resulting in increased compliance and increased disposition of officers and men to put national interest above selves”, he added.
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On the anti-smuggling front, Attah said seizures made include arms, ammunitions, over 59 containers of Tramadol and other controlled drugs and 320,709 bags of foreign rice etc.
The Customs spokesman maintained that the service operated within its three-layer security strategy in its efforts to make smuggling unattractive to potential culprits.
“While the service continues to deal decisively with smugglers, fellow citizens, especially border dwellers and port users are advised to support NCS by reporting any smuggling activity to the nearest Customs formation.
“Together we can protect our economy and security by joining hands to fight smuggling and ensure that appropriate customs duty is paid on every dutiable import,” Attah stated.
While appreciating compliant stakeholders that have supported the Service in 2018, he called on all Nigerians, especially international trade actors to help make 2019 better for the nation.