Nigeria's economy, said to be in the category of developing nations of the world is albeit fast growing. Apart from oil, which is known to be the mainstay of the economy,revenue from import and export duties still play a huge role in the overall economy mix of Nigeria. The Seme command of Nigeria customs service is heading for a record revenue collection in the past months. But to control the import and export regulations as stated by government. The Nigeria customs service is saddled with that onerous task of its officers and men living up to expectations, Pmw crew w ere reliably informed by the commands Public relations officer, Taupeng , S. K a chief superintendent of customs.The customs controller of the Area command has these to say through the public relations unit.


The Nigerian Customs Service Seme command has generated a total of 5.3 billion naira from January to October, 2017 despite the daunting challenges of drastic downturn on economic activities through the Lagos Abidjan corridor.
In taking stock and evaluation of the command’s performance indices for the last ten months, it was observed that the command had performed creditably in the face of many limiting factors and hiccups that have militated against its performance.
Commenting on the total revenue generated for the period under review, the Customs Area Controller Mohammed, Aliyu. A disclosed that the feat was achieved with the cooperation of his officers and men, whose resilience and doggedness could not be compromised in implementing the policy of the federal government banning the importation of rice and vehicles through the land borders.
With the adoption of a more inclusive approach in the fight against smuggling activities, the collaborative effort with other relevant security agencies and the stakeholders has led to a tremendous result of decline in smuggling activities and increase in revenue generation.
The anti-smuggling unit of the command made a total of 469 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of 508,469,776.32 for the period under review. Commenting further on the anti-smuggling drive of the command, the Customs Area Controller stated that the intensified and aggressive anti-smuggling operations in the command have led to a drastic reduction in revenue leakages. He said it has also led to the curbing of most cross border crimes perpetrated through the land border, he re-stated that the fight against smuggling must be sustained. Meanwhile, the command generated the sum of 678,237,118.22 as revenue for the month of October, 2017 while 123 seizures were made with a duty paid value (DPV) of 184,366,505.00 for the same month under review.

In another narratives, the command helmsman submitted that the different types of seizures made in the command is a pointer to the fact that smuggling through Seme border has been combated to the barest minimum. The seized items ranges from fairly used vehicles, rice, second hand clothing, shoes, frozen poultry products, mosquito repellent coils, expired fertilizer and used tyres among others.
Commenting further on the movement of goods through the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) which was adopted to promote regional trade and integration, the Customs Area Controller said that under his watch the command is committed to the implementation of extant laws regarding transit scheme, he affirm that no import goods meant to pay duty is allowed to pass through the ECOWAS scheme. He stressed that the rule of origin and the enterprise list were strictly used to ensure that infractions to evade duty through false declaration are avoided, while legitimate ECOWAS goods within the West Africa Sub region are facilitated through the scheme.For the period under review, the ECOWAS compliant goods with CIF value of 11,192,249,590.01 were cleared through the corridor, the one percent comprehensive import supervision scheme fee amounted to 111,694,121.61 with revenue loss of 3,141,661,339.47

The Customs Area Controller noted that the command in compliance with government policy of encouraging the export of home made goods has facilitated the export of made in Nigeria goods with FOB value of 9,919,324,238.49 and a total collection that amounted to 49,598,169.64. The command also meticulously supervises the corridor to ensure that none of the export prohibitions is allowed to pass to another country.
Commenting on the activities at the Non-Intrusive Unit (scanner site), the Customs Area Comptroller reiterated that security and trade facilitation is strictly enhanced under the scanner unit.
He restated that the performance of the functional scanner machine has save the command from sponsored petitions ofalleged smuggling of weapons into the countrythrough the land borders. He affirmed that the scanner which is in good working condition is helping in protecting the Nation’s territorial integrity as suspected images noticed during scanning process are subjected to 100% examination. The frequency and quantity of goods scanned per day compared to the manual examination also help to facilitate legitimate trade which is in line with the executive order on the ease of doing business. The command is also collaborating with other security agencies for a well-coordinated border security and management. The result of collaboration with our Beninoise counterpart has curbeda lot of cross border crimes to the barest minimum.

On Baggage/Currency declaration unit, passengers baggage (accompanied and unaccompanied) are subjected to physical examination. The Passengers baggage electronic system (PEBES) is also used for the assessment of dutiable passenger baggage, while travelers declare their currency once it is above 10,000 USD.
The command has also arrested a total of 23 defendant undergoing different stages of investigation and prosecution, with one person convicted.

The CAC warned that as we approach the festive period, the command is ever ready to ensure that no contraband passes through the Lagos Abidjan Corridor, he advised economic saboteurs to stay clear of Seme border or when arrested will be made to face the full wrath of the law