CG SAYS FRAUDULENT BONDED TERMINALS’ LICENSES TO BE REVOKED; AS COMPT OLOMU INTERCEPTS 25 CONTAINERISED FAKE PHARMACEUTICALS WORTH N9.2 BILLION
Bonded Terminals which are used by fraudulent importers and agents as fortresses to import and clear dangerous and prohibited goods may have their licenses revoked henceforth.
The Comptroller General of the Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, disclosed this today at the Premier Customs Seaport Command, that intels have revealed that most of the terminals are used to clear ‘bad jobs’, noting that some of them have been caught in the act.
Adeniyi also stated that henceforth, no containerised pharmaceutical products will be stemmed to any of the Bonded Terminals to forestall this risk of using them for adulterated products.
Only the premier seaport Apapa and Onne will be used for this purpose, as well as Tin Can Island command and PTML for other relevant similar imports.
This riot act was read out today while the Comptroller General was exhibiting 25 seized containers laden with unregistered and prohibited pharmaceutical products intercepted by Compt Babatunde Olomu, PhD, fsi, worth more than N9.2 billion and handed over to the NAFDAC.
As a Service, they remain committed to making our seaports, airports, and land borders impenetrable barriers against smuggling operations through their
unrelenting nationwide anti-contraband initiatives. Their intelligence-led enforcement strategy, enhanced by real-time collaboration with regulatory agencies, has fundamentally transformed their operational capabilities.
Today, they formally hand over to NAFDAC a total of 25 containers laden with counterfeit medications, unregistered pharmaceutical products, and prohibited substances including codeine-based preparations that pose imminent danger to public health. These seizures, with an aggregate Duty Paid Value of Nine Billion, Two Hundred and Thirty-Five Million, Four Hundred and Two Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy-Three Naira (N9,235,402,973.00). represent a sophisticated network of criminal enterprises that deliberately exploit regulatory gaps to compromise our national health security.
A detailed breakdown of the seizures reveals disturbing patterns of misdeclaration and systematic attempts to circumvent established import protocols. The 25 containers comprise 21 forty-foot containers and 4 twenty-foot containers containing predominantly unregistered pharmaceutical products including sexual enhancement drugs such as REDSUN and HYEGRA sildenafil citrate products, codeine-containing cough syrups including CSC brands, antibiotic injections like oxytetracycline and artesunate, pain relief medications containing diclofenac sodium and paracetamol, skin lightening creams marketed as GBOGBONISE and SKIN CHEMIST, hip and breast enlargement products, and various tablets bearing fake NAFDAC registration numbers.
The seizures also include expired food products such as margarine and chocolate, veterinary medications including albendazole bolus tablets, antimalarial drugs like artepham-artequick, and consumer goods such as crusader soap, reflecting a sophisticated and diversified contraband portfolio that poses significant threats to
public health, consumer safety, and regulatory integrity.
According to him, the operational synergy they have developed with NAFDAC reflects strategic collaboration at its finest, with the Director-General providing critical intelligence even at midnight about suspicious importations that proves decisive to their anti-smuggling operations. This MOU-facilitated coordination enables swift responses to emerging threats, and he commended the Director-General and her dedicated team whose technical expertise, combined with their enforcement capabilities, has created a formidable barrier against criminal networks seeking to compromise our borders.
He said the Nigeria Customs Service, in partnership with NAFDAC and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, remains uncompromisingly committed to the battle against merchants of death who pursue illicit profits from businesses that destroy lives and communities. Under the coordination of the Office of the National Security Adviser, our joint operations have resulted in the seizure of over 200 containers followed by coordinated destruction exercises, with unregistered pharmaceutical products comprising 63.7% of seizure values, highlighting the scale of threats that could have inflicted devastating damage on human lives and our social ecosystem if permitted to infiltrate our markets.
This ceremonial handover is another tangible result of our combined commitment between the Nigeria Customs Service and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control following their strategic Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2024 and the recent inauguration of its Implementation Committee, which has already begun to yield remarkable dividends in our enforcement efforts against unwholesome food and pharmaceutical products.
He noted that the MOU framework enables Customs and NAFDAC to conduct coordinated operations and joint investigations, systematically tracing illicit pharmaceutical sources and deploying targeted enforcement strategies against criminal networks. Inter-agency collaboration and intelligence sharing have been central to their enforcement philosophy, and under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, this enhanced cooperation has delivered measurable results in protecting public health and combating illicit trade.
He once again read the Riot Act to all stakeholders within the international trade environment: the Nigeria Customs Service, in strategic partnership with sister government agencies, will maintain an uncompromising stance on regulatory compliance. They shall deploy their full statutory powers of seizure, arrest, investigation, and prosecution of suspects without hesitation or compromise.
He stressed that where it is discovered that haulage operators, bonded terminal owners, or any other trade facilitators are complicit in these illegal activities, such persons or companies will face the full weight of the law. Their intelligence network and
technological capabilities have been significantly enhanced to detect and intercept prohibited items regardless of concealment methods or documentation
He extends special commendation to their operatives at the Apapa Port Command who, through their vigilance, professionalism, and dedication to duty. successfully executed these complex interdictions, reflecting the core values of their Service and their collective commitment to protecting Nigeria’s borders and citizens. This handover ceremony symbolizes their shared commitment to protecting the health and security of our nation, and through continued inter-agency collaboration, intelligence sharing, and strategic enforcement, they shall ensure that Nigeria’s borders remain secure against those who would compromise our national health security for criminal gain.