The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reported a total revenue collection of N1.75 trillion for the first quarter of 2025, surpassing the quarter’s target of N1.645 trillion by N106.5 billion.
The Q1 revenue collection by the Service also represented 29.96% increase compared to its generated revenue in the corresponding quarter of last year.
The Comptroller-General of Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, who gave the figures during a press briefing at the Service’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday, attributed the improved performance of the Service to the impact of ongoing fiscal reforms by the Federal Government.
A further analysis of the revenue collection on monthly basis showed that the Service raked in N647.88 billion in January, N540.11 billion in February, and N563.52 billion in March.
On the Service’s enforcement operations during the quarter, Adeniyi disclosed that a total of 298 seizures, including 135,474 bags of rice, 65,819 litres of petroleum products, 22 narcotics-related cases, were recorded within the period, with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N7.7 billion.
In his response to questions from journalists on refined petroleum products’ smuggling, the comptroller-General explained that the Service observed a gradual reduction in petroleum products’ smuggling in the last two years, adding that though no specific commodity communication or disaggregated figures were available at the time but that the Service relied on an aggregated analysis of import and export data to assess the trend.
He identified price disparity between Nigeria and neighbouring countries as the main driver of petrol smuggling from Nigeria to other countries.
Adeniyi clarified: “In several Nigerian border communities, petrol is sold between N850 and N900 per litre, while in the Niger Republic and Benin Republic, the price can be as high as N1,600 to N2,000 per litre. This significant price gap provides incentives for smugglers to continue illegal trade, despite intensified efforts by the Customs Service.
“To combat the situation, the NCS introduced ‘Operation Whirlwind’, initially designed as a short-term intervention. However, the operation has since evolved into a sustained enforcement effort due to its effectiveness, despite the high resource demands it entails”, he added.
On the menace of foreign currency smuggling and financial crimes, the Customs’ boss disclosed that the Service had made remarkable progress in curbing cross-border money laundering with major interceptions recorded at airports, seaports, and land borders, including $1,264,900, €170,660, and 135,009 Saudi Riyals and two convictions of suspects recorded during the quarter in review.
In terms of trade facilitation, the Comptroller-General reported that the Service processed 327,928 import declarations and 8,153 export transactions, accounting for a total trade value of N36.32 trillion, adding that despite the lower number of export transactions, the high volume and value indicated a growing trend in bulk commodity exports.
He also spoke on the recent innovations by the NCS management, including the expansion of the B’Odogwu clearance platform, the launch of the Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) programme, and the “Customs Cares” Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative to enhance the Service’s operations.
Adeniyi also disclosed that over 2,000 students and 1,000 residents in local communities had benefitted from the CSR with plans by the management to extend the initiative to other parts of the country.
