By Fanayajo Ranti Margaret
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reaffirmed its resolve to protect Nigerian farmers, manufacturers and businesses from prohibited imports, false declarations and other practices capable of undermining domestic production, investment and job creation.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, while briefing journalists at the Port Harcourt II Area Command, Onne, Rivers State, on the interception of 56 containers of prohibited goods with a total duty-paid value of N5.53 billion.
Adeniyi said the seizure was the outcome of intelligence-driven and risk-based enforcement operations designed to prevent prohibited, restricted and improperly declared consignments from entering the Nigerian market.
According to him, unchecked importation of goods that can be produced or processed locally places additional pressure on Nigerian farmers, manufacturers and other domestic producers by exposing them to unfair competition, weakening demand for locally made products and discouraging investment across critical value chains.
He noted that the impact was particularly significant in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, where large-scale importation of locally producible goods could undermine efforts to strengthen food security, create employment, promote domestic industries and diversify the Nigerian economy.
The Customs boss, however, stressed that enforcement was not intended to frustrate legitimate businesses, but to create a fair, secure and predictable trading environment for compliant traders.
He explained that the Service’s risk-based approach allows legitimate cargo to be facilitated while consignments considered high-risk receive enhanced scrutiny.
Adeniyi commended the Customs Area Controller, Port Harcourt II Area Command, Comptroller Aliyu Alkali, and officers of the command for the successful interceptions.
He also advised importers and other stakeholders to confirm the admissibility of their intended imports before commencing transactions and ensure that declarations accurately reflect the description, quantity, value, origin and classification of goods.
The Comptroller-General disclosed that the intercepted consignments comprised 45 20-foot containers of foreign vegetable oil, nine 40-foot containers of used clothing and two 20-foot containers of Channy tomato paste.
He said the seizures were consistent with the Federal Government’s broader economic objectives, particularly policies aimed at promoting made-in-Nigeria products, supporting local industries and strengthening domestic value chains.