By Anthony Nwachukwu
The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone C of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) seized contrabands worth approximately N7.6 billion between January 25th, 2023 and April 19th, 2024, the outgoing controller, Compt. Kayode Kolade, has disclosed.
Kolade, in his farewell address in Owerri over the weekend, said that “with your support and cooperation, the unit within my tenure was able to make substantial and spectacular 198 seizures with a duty paid value of N7,577,259,390.00,” according to a statement from the Command Public Relations Officer, Mr. Jerry Attah.
He thanked the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, and his management team for their trust and confidence in him to serve as comptroller, and for replacing him with Compt. Michael Ugbagu – “a thorough enforcement guru.”
Kayode also thanked the officers of the unit for their unparalleled support, commitment, dedication, handwork and prayers, adding that their support was the reason for his successes.
According to him, this is derived from five sacks of Pangolin scales weighing 413.1kg and worth N523,356,390; 1,813 bags of 50kg each of foreign parboiled rice worth N105,105,000.00; 815 sacks of Cannabis Sativa weighing 17,950kg, and 2,935 parcels (1kg each) weighing 2,935kg (totaling 20,885) worth N1,670,800,000.00.
Other seizures and their breakdown are: DSP/CMC Cough syrup with codeine, 31 cartons containing 3,600 bottles worth N21,600,000.00, 52 vehicles, including three armored vehicles, worth N4,275,000,000.00.
There were equally nine sacks of 50kg explosive materials/super power90 substance/cables worth N12,990,000.00; 1,807 jumbo bales of used clothes worth N451,750,000.00 and 48 sacks of used shoes worth N4,800,000, and 955 cartons of various expired brands, including tramadol, worth N238,750,000.
Others included 6,457 pieces of used pneumatic tyres worth N96,855,000, 364 cartons of foreign spaghetti worth N7,280,000, 4,693 cartons of foreign tomato paste worth N234,650,000, 80 x 25kg Jerry cans of vegetable oil worth N600,000, 1,329 cartons of foreign soap worth N33,255,000; and 32 x 25ltrs PMS worth N468,000,00.
Noting that though FOUC is not a revenue-generating unit, he stated that under his watch, and based on interventions to checkmate the activities of fraudulent agents at the seaports, lost revenue totaling N155,819,714.00 was recovered within his 15 months in office.
According to the statement, Kayode also reconstructed and equipped a clinic at the unit’s office in Owerri, where officers and men, as well as members of the host-community enjoy free healthcare services from the unit’s qualified medical personnel.
And to ensure a healthy work-life balance, he carved out a spacious office for sports activities with fully installed gym equipment where officers and men can exercise.
He called on everyone to extend same support and cooperation to his successor, Compt. Ugbagu, saying: “I wish you well my brother. You will succeed and your legacies will be felt as well.”
On his part, Ugbagu thanked Compt. Kolade for his “highly commendable “achievements and pledged continued compliance with established guidelines, saying: “We will ensure compliance with the current import and export guidelines using intelligence and technology to drive our operations.
“There will be a watertight security against smuggling activities across the zone. Smugglers will be discouraged, frustrated and made uncomfortable, thereby making smuggling, duty evasion and warehousing of smuggled goods unattractive within the zone.”
