By Obiabin Onukwugha
The Nigeria Customs Service has seized goods worth over five billion naira at the Onne Port, Eleme local government area of Rivers State.
Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, CG Bashir Adeniyi, revealed this while displaying the seized goods at the Onne Port, Rivers State, on Tuesday, stating that the agency has launched an investigation into the circumstances in which the goods were imported.
Adeniyi said the goods, which included a total of 45 containers of 25 litres each vegetable oil (the brand of delicious and pure brand), with 1,050 jerry cans inside each of the 45 containers with a total duty paid value of N4,252,500,000; nine by 40 footer containers of used clothing with a duty paid value of N1,045,580,000, and eleven 20 footer containers of foreign tomato paste with a duty paid value of N232,000,000, were declared as plants, spare parts, and machineries at the port.
The CG, decried that the free zones which were created by the federal government to create incentives and waivers for importers and for trade facilitation, is now been used for illicit deals by bad elements within the ports.
“Over the last few months, the command in Onne has been undertaking a review of operations of some goods that are imported through Onne ports but are destined to some free trade zones and other economic zones in the country. And what we have discovered through our intelligence and our risk-based analysis of the profiles of these importers is that so many of them have started to abuse the free zone concessions,” he said.
The Customs CG recalled that recently, the Cross River/Akwa Ibom Command recorded a seizure of two by 40 footer containers of vegetable oil that were initially destined for Calabar Free Trade Zone, but were arrested somewhere where they were being diverted.
“Before that interception, there were in our records about 40 other containers of vegetable oil that were taken into Calabar Free Trade Zone. Our suspicion is that these containers did not get into the Free Trade Zone. However, we are going to be talking to them,” Adeniyi stated.
He emphasised that the agency’s commitment to prompt port clearance of imported goods should not in any way damage local production capacity.
“As we get goods through our ports, we must also ensure that local producers of the same products get justice. As you may be aware, the federal government of Nigeria in its quest to encourage local productions of goods have created special economic zones, free zones, free trade zones, some of them for exports, some of them for local production of goods. And for these zones to operate fully, a number of incentives and waivers have been done before them.
“A good number of them are allowed to import their raw materials, their plants and machineries free of duty and all other charges. Sometimes government goes a step further by allowing them to import goods that are under import prohibition. However, what we have witnessed in recent time is a flagrant abuse of those concessions that have been put at their disposal to encourage production either for local consumption or for exports,” he said.
He stated that while investigations continue, customs agents will be the primary suspects of the illegal imports of the goods
“We are going to be asking questions, not just from the authorities of the Free Trade Zone, but also from Nigeria Customs Service. What happened to those 40 containers? We’ll be asking questions like, where are the customs documents that were used to process these containers? What happened to the landing certificates?
“And from Free Trade Zone operators, we’ll want to know, in what production process were the 40 containers of vegetable oil deployed? We want to know whether they were used as raw materials, or whether they, as final products, were used in the production of some other items. If that was what happened, we will be interested in knowing the invoice, to see the invoice and see the final products of the various companies that imported this.
“As a result of this, the following decisions have been taken. Number one, this is 56 containers that we are seeing today, including nine containers of assorted used clothing. The two containers of tomato paste that we see here, and the 46 containers, 45 containers of vegetable oil are hereby pronounced ceased, because they are imported in contravention of sections 55 and 233 of the Nigerian Customs Service Act 2023.
“Number two, we are going to initiate court processes leading to the condemnation and final forfeiture of these item. Number three, all those that are involved, whether they are importers, they are agents, shipping companies, all accessories, everybody involved, one way or the other, I have directed our legal units to initiate the prosecution of those that are involved. And finally, number four, we will undertake a comprehensive audit of all the containers whose custom processes were suspended and are moved from these ports to Tinapa Free Trade Zones.
“We will be requesting them to produce the customs documents, and we’ll be asking them to produce the process that consumed the containers of vegetable oil and the final products thereof. And while this process is ongoing, no further transfer of containers to Tinapa Free Trade Zone would be entertained. Appropriate directive has been given that until all the containers that were transferred are properly accounted for, we will not allow any future transfer of containers into the Free Trade Zone,” the Customs CG said.
He further stated that the interception of the containers is aimed at safeguarding Nigeria’s economic interests, protecting public health, support domestic production, and ensure compliance with the country’s import laws and regulations,
“Importing consignments that violate existing restrictions or involve false declarations that we have seen in this particular case can have serious consequences for the Nigerian economy, Nigerian security, and can further deprive the government of legitimate revenue. It also exposes our manufacturers, farmers, and other local producers to unfair competition.
“It weakens demand for locally manufactured goods and agricultural produce. It discourages investment and threatens employment across our domestic value chain. The economic impact is also very significant.
“When we see large-scale importation of products that Nigeria can produce, it may undermine federal government’s efforts in promoting local industry. It will also compromise our ability for food security, to create jobs, and to diversify the economy. I would therefore like to sincerely urge users of these ports to desist from this kind of action, that we continue to give the ports a bad name,” he said.
Adeniyi, therefore warned that the Onne Customs must not allow a model port built by the federal government to promote trade facilitation, to be used as a conduit for government revenue, government security, and trade facilitation.
He commended the Port Harcourt II Area Controller, Comptroller AM Alkali, and his men, for their diligence in the seizure and the media for their collaboration with the agency.
