The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area Command says it generated N3.7 trillion between May 2024 and July 2025 while intercepting 75 consignments of contraband that range from expired pharmaceuticals to arms and drones.
The figure is being put forward as proof that stricter checks at the nation s busiest port can both protect security and swell Treasury coffers.
The headline numbers are impressive. Monthly collections rose from N175.1 billion in May 2024 to more than N200 billion by July and peaked at N269.3 billion in January 2025.
Thereafter monthly receipts fluctuated but remained above the N200 billion mark contributing to the cumulative N3.7 trillion.
If accurate these trends point to a sustained recovery in formal trade receipts at Apapa and a stronger grip by the command on revenue leakages.
Yet the same document that celebrates revenue delivers a darker tale. In the last 15 months the command recorded 75 interceptions that included assorted rifles, ammunition, expired and fake drugs, banned opioids such as codeine and tramadol, used clothing, expired foodstuffs, wild animal skins, stolen vehicles and restricted security gadgets including drones and transceivers.
The seizures involved 62 forty foot containers and 13 twenty foot containers. Officials say 60 warrior drones without End User Certificates and 53 helicopter drones were recovered from a single container labelled CFAX3.
The smuggling profile emerging from Apapa is alarming for two reasons. First it exposes a supply chain that moves everything from contraband medicines to weapons through the same network of shipping lines and clearing houses.
Second it raises questions about how high value but prohibited items are slipping through global checks before landing on Nigerian soil.
The interception of 11 containers carrying unregistered sex drugs and expired foodstuffs with an assessed value of N921 million earlier this year demonstrates the scale and variety of illicit cargo at the port.
Comptroller General Adewale Adeniyi used a press event to display some of the seizures and to warn trade actors that the importation of such consignments violates law and threatens national peace.
The CGC commended the Apapa officers and singled out Babatunde Olomu for the command s performance before Olomu s elevation to Assistant Comptroller General.
Observers say the public showcasing serves dual purposes. It signals deterrence to traffickers and it bolsters public confidence in Customs as a revenue and security agency.
But display is not reform. The recurring discovery of expired medicines and misdeclared security hardware points to persistent weaknesses upstream in documentation, container inspection and cross border intelligence sharing.
The huge revenue tallies are welcome. They however should not be read as proof that systemic corruption or collusion has been eradicated. High gross revenue can mask selective clearance, under declared cargo, and a parallel informal economy that continues to evade duty.
Independent audits and transparent reconciliation of manifest data against collections are overdue.
There is also a governance question. Apapa handles the highest volume of trade for NCS and naturally attracts tougher expectations. Promoting a CAC who delivered such numbers is logical. But promotions must be accompanied by institutional incentives that lock in best practice.
That means better end user verification for restricted goods, real time sharing of seizure data with law enforcement, and penalties that reach upstream actors in the supply chain not just the low level clearing agents. Otherwise the same containers will keep reappearing under another bill of lading.
For businesses the message is mixed. Legitimate importers face delays and stricter checks, which raise costs. Smugglers who adapt their concealment techniques also face higher risk. For the state there is a short run win in revenue and an important long run task in converting tactical seizures into a durable disruption of illicit trade networks.
The data on drones, military gear, and communication devices demands urgent coordination between Customs, National Security agencies and international partners to track origin points and end users.
Recommendations for immediate action are straightforward:
Publish and reconcile monthly manifest to revenue reconciliations for independent verification.
Strengthen pre arrival intelligence and port scanning capacity.
Institute a court backed chain of custody protocol so seized items become usable evidence against organisers of illicit importation.
Finally make public periodic reports that link seizures to prosecutions.
Until such steps are credible the narrative of record revenue will be hollow for Nigerians who want both fiscal prudence and secure borders.
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