Adamawa Customs Foils Smuggling of N79.86m Fuel, Rice, Other Goods

The Nigeria Customs Service, operating under its Adamawa and Taraba Area Command, has announced a significant haul of contraband items, including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), foreign parboiled rice, and various other goods, with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of ₦79,857,500 in Adamawa State.

Area Comptroller Mohammed Tako, addressing a press conference in Yola on Friday, revealed that these substantial seizures were the outcome of targeted anti-smuggling operations. These operations specifically focused on identified hotspots for illicit trade across the command's jurisdiction. Tako reiterated the service's unwavering commitment to fostering national economic growth through a proactive anti-smuggling campaign and by enhancing trade facilitation practices in line with global best standards.

He detailed that within a two-month period of intensified activities, customs officers uncovered 451 cartons of foreign bar soap. These items were discovered stockpiled in a bush along the bank of the River Benue. Tako explained that smugglers, who had made arrangements to transport the goods into Nigeria, abandoned them and fled into the bush following the swift intervention of customs personnel. He quoted, “Confronted by the swift intervention of our officers, the suspects abandoned the contraband and fled into the bush.”

In a separate operation, officers located 374 jerrycans, each containing 25 litres of PMS, along a bush path in Sahuda, situated on the Nigeria-Cameroon border, during the early hours of August 20, 2026. Furthermore, a Mitsubishi Canter truck, bearing registration number XB 566 GML, was intercepted on September 14, 2026, at approximately 8:10 pm. This vehicle, loaded with 116 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice and 50 cartons of imported soap, was stopped along the Wuro Alhaji-Maiha axis based on credible intelligence.

The comptroller also reported the discovery of 299 jerrycans of PMS, each containing 25 litres, along an unauthorized route on the Belel-Goshidan axis on September 21, 2026, around 2:45 am. He confirmed that these fuel products were intended for illegal export out of the country.

Tako further elaborated, stating, “In like manner, on Friday, October 2, 2026, at about 0600hrs, following actionable intelligence, 150 bags of foreign parboiled rice weighing 50kg each, 20 bags of local maize weighing 100kg each, and 11 bales and five jumbo sacks of second-hand clothing gathered along a bush path on the Maiha-Mubi axis, meant for onward smuggling, were discovered and seized by the operatives.”

The cumulative tally of seizures includes 673 jerrycans of PMS, amounting to 16,825 litres; 501 cartons of foreign bar soap; 266 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice; 11 bales and five jumbo sacks of second-hand clothing; and one Mitsubishi Canter truck utilized in conveying the illicit goods.

These confiscated items, as confirmed by Tako, have an aggregate Duty Paid Value of ₦79,857,500. He emphasized that the seizures were carried out in strict compliance with the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, specifically citing Sections 150, 233, 245, 246, and 248, along with Schedule 3 of the Common External Tariff, which outlines the import prohibition list.

Comptroller Tako concluded by appealing to community leaders to collaborate closely with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies in the ongoing battle against smuggling and other criminal activities, underscoring that such cooperation is crucial for the nation's economic advancement.