Illicit drugs, Apapa Customs
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has collected N1.75 trillion as revenue for the first quarter of 2025.
The Comptroller-General (C-G) of the service, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at a press briefing on its activities for the first quarter.
Adeniyi said that they exceeded their first quarter benchmark of N1.65 trillion by 106.47 per cent.
“I am proud to announce that we have exceeded this year’s target by N106.5 billion, achieving 106.47 per cent of our quarterly projection.
”This outstanding performance represents a substantial 29.96 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024, where we collected N1.35 trillion.
“Our month-by-month analysis reveals even more encouraging details of this growth trajectory.
“January’s collection of N647. 88 billion not only surpassed its monthly target of N548.33 billion by 18.12 per cent , but also showed a remarkable 65.77 per cent year-on-year growth.
“February’s N540.11 billion exceeded its target by 1.3 per cent while achieving 19.97 per cent growth over 2024 figures.”
Adeniyi said that March maintained this positive trend with N563.52 billion, delivering 2.7 per cent above target and an 11.22 per cent improvement over March 2024.
He said that the service recorded 298 seizures, with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N7.7 billion, which represented an increase of 78.41 percent compared to the N4.32 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The achievement, he said,  was an indication of improved operational effectiveness.
The customs boss added that compared to the N9.59 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2024, the service observed a 19.70 per cent reduction in DPV.
According to him, the reduction is due to improved compliance, facilitated by sustained stakeholders’ engagements and the deterrent effect of the service’s enforcement activities.
“Rice remained the most prevalent seized commodity, with 159 cases involving 135,474 bags valued at N939.31 million.
“Petroleum products followed with 61 seizures totaling 65,819 litres (N43.34 million DPV).
”Of particular note were 22 narcotics interceptions valued at N730.75 million reflecting our intensified focus on combating drug trafficking.
“The service also recorded three high-value wildlife product seizures with a remarkable N5.65 billion DPV.”
Adeniyi stated that this underscored both the lucrative nature of the illegal trade and the NCS’s commitment to environmental protection under the extant international conventions.
The C-G said that other notable seizures included 13 cases of textile fabrics valued at N134.22 million DPV), five cases of retreaded tires.
He disclosed that they were all valued at N104.60 million DPV), with one pharmaceuticals case valued at N17.19 million DPV.
According to him, these comprehensive results demonstrate the service’s vigilance across all the categories of prohibited and restricted goods.
In the first quarter, he said, the NCS  processed a total of 327,928 Single Goods Declarations  for imports.
It also handled goods with a total mass of 4.91billion kilogrammes and a Cost, Insurance, and Freight value of N14.81 trillion.
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