Oramalugo: Customs Area Controller Makes Largest Rice Seizure
By Ovie Edomi
For two weeks precisely between 1st July and 19th July 2025, operatives of Customs, Seme Area Command acting on intelligence and well coordinated enforcement strategies, made one of Comptroller Oramalugo’s largest rice seizures since becoming a Customs Area Controller. Comptroller Ben Oramalugo PhD FCIA FNIM, disclosed this to journalists while taking media men round the seizures.
The Seme Customs Area Command intercepted and seized in one operation Five (5) trucks laden with smuggled goods along the Lagos-Abidjan corridor. The trucks were found to contain a total of Two Thousand Eight Hundred (2,800) foreign parboiled rice 50Kg each, and Two Hundred and Fifty (250) bales of second –hand clothing.The Duty Paid Value of the seized rice and the means of conveyance (trucks) is Nine Hundred and Nineteen Million, Five Hundred Thousand, Six Hundred and Twenty-Six Naira (₦919,500,626.00k).
In another operation, Eight Hundred and Ninety Eight (898) parcels of Cannabis Sativa (Marijuana), One Thousand Three Hundred and Nineteen (1,319) bags of foreign parboiled rice thus bringing the rice to 4119 bags of 50kg each.Others seizures include Forty (40) bags of Sugar (50kg each), Sixty-Four (64) bags of Flour (50kg each), Fifty (50) cartons of Ketchup Tomato, One (1) boat and engine, Twenty (20) bales of second-hand clothing, Four (4) bales of used shoes. The total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of all seizures during the period under review is One Billion, Two Hundred and Sixty-Eight Million, Seven Hundred and Ninety-Four Thousand, Four Hundred and Seventy-Four Naira (₦1,268,794,474.00k) only.
It would be recalled, that the Federal Government has placed a ban on the importation of rice through land borders to protect indigenous rice farmers and millers as well as reduce dependency on imported rice. According to Comptroller Oramalugo,” Nigeria is the highest producer of rice in Africa, with an annual output exceeding 8 million metric tonnes, surpassing Egypt and Tanzania. Oramalugo, however, noted that the nation’s rice mills continue to face challenges due to insufficient patronage, which hampers their ability to operate at full capacity. A major reason why the federal government banned imported rice, as a strategic measure to boost local production and ensure the sustainability of the country’s agricultural sector”, Oramalugo stated.
While narrating further how two persons were arrested with the seized drugs, Comptroller Oramalugo warned unpatriotic elements who persistly engage in illegal importation, thus undermining the nation’s economic growth to avoid Seme border. According to him ” Seme is not a conduit pipe for smuggling and Seme border is not, and will never be, a fertile ground for smugglers so the Seme Area Command will not hesitate to bring the full weight of the law upon smugglers on the Lagos-Abidjan corridor”
As Comptroller Oramalugo handed over the seized 898 parcels of Cannabis to Idris Ibrahim Mohammed reprepresentative of NDLEA, Seme, he noted ” these monumental seizures send a strong message to those involved in illicit activities that the operatives of the Command remain resolute, equipped, and prepared to enforce the Federal Government’s fiscal policies with unwavering determination”.He described the seizures as testament to the vigilance, resilience, and doggedness of the officers and men of the Customs, Seme Area Command, as well as the collaborative support from other security agencies, particularly the Nigerian military.
REVENUE GENERATION
According to Comptroller Oramalugo,
the Customs Area Command, Seme, through commitment and professionalism, generated a total revenue of One Billion, Five Hundred and Ninety-Three Million, Six Hundred and Seventy-Six Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty-Three Naira, Twenty-Six Kobo (₦1,593,676,123.26k) for the months of May and June 2025. This achievement he says reflects the Command’s sustained efforts at ensuring that all revenue leakages are blocked, and every legitimate kobo due to the Federal Government is collected without compromise.
Also with respect to export and trade facilitation, in line with the Federal Government’s agenda on economic diversification through non-oil exports, the Command facilitated the movement of One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Thirty-Seven (1,837) trucks, equivalent to over One Hundred and Sixteen Thousand metric tonnes (116,723.26MT) of made-in-Nigeria goods. These exports had a Free On Board (FOB) value of Twenty-Two Billion, Three Hundred and Thirty-Eight Million, Three Hundred and Eighty-Eight Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy-Six Naira and Ten Kobo (₦22,368,388,976.10k).
Similarly, the National Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) fees stood at One Hundred and Eleven Million, Eight Hundred and Forty-One Thousand, Nine Hundred and Forty-Four Naira and Eighty-Seven Kobo (₦111,841,944.87K) only.
COMMENDS CGC, ADEWALE ADENIYI
While appreciating the Comptroller-General of Customs, CGC and Chairman, World Customs Organisation, as well as the CGC’s Management team for their unwavering support, the Customs area Controller, Seme border noted that the allocation of 12 patrol vehicles to the Seme Area Command by Adewale Adeniyi, CGC has significantly enhanced the Seme Area Command’s capacity to patrol and secure the Lagos-Abidjan corridor, and the results of the investment are evident in the seizures the Seme border Customs area Controller showcased to Journalists.
While answering qustions from Journalists, Comptroller Oramalugo, emphasised that poverty and greed are responsible for why people still go about smuggling and importing banned items but warned smugglers and fraudulent importers to avoid the Seme border. He however commended the principal officers and the entire Officers and men of the Seme Area Command for their unrelenting efforts in combating smuggling. According to him “Their dedication, coupled with the support of other security agencies, particularly the military, has been instrumental in these successes. When situations escalate, the military’s reinforcement has proven invaluable, and we remain grateful for their partnership”.
Similarly, the Seme CAC averred that “though every month is seizure in Seme border, there are times that we loose Officers so the sacrifices of Officers must be appreciated”
No doubt, for a country that has to contend with arms, banned items and drugs entering Nigeria through the Sahel region,(Sahel region of Africa is known as a semi-arid, transitional zone between the Sahara Desert to the north and the more fertile savannas to the South), a development that puts the nation’s children and their future in real danger; the CAC, Seme border, Comptroller Oramalugo indeed, has every reason to be committed to protecting Nigeria’s economic interests, fostering legitimate trade, and ensure the security of Nigeria’s borders.
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