The Murtala Muhammed Airport command of the Nigeria Customs Service has achieved an increase of 111.7 per cent in in its revenue collection in the first quarter of 2024 when compared to the revenue generated during the same period in 2023.
Briefing the press this Monday morning in his office at Ikeja, Lagos, the Area Controller of the command, Comptroller Mohammed Sani Yusuf, disclosed that despite certain challenges, the command collected N45,232,483,528.00 between January and March this year against N21,362,752,676.44 generated in the corresponding period of last year.
The controller stated that this year’s first quarter collection is N 23,869,730,851.56k higher than 2023 first quarter collection which is 111.7 per cent increase.
On anti-smuggling, Comptroller Yusuf declared that the command recorded an an appreciable increase in its anti-smuggling drive which led to the interception of fifty pieces of 9mm live ammunition which was discovered in a joint examination conducted by the service and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
He added that the number of first quarter seizures in the command includes 1,164kg sea cucumbers, 58kg of donkey genitals and 17 packages of Tramadol.
According to the Controller, the duty paid value of the aforementioned items stood at N5,794,099,371.119k.
He stated that all the seized items contravened some of the provisions of the extant laws as enshrined in the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
Three persons were arrested over the seizures.
On stakeholders engagement, the controller noted that the command has maintained its open-door policy and resolved a lot of issues of common interest with concerned stakeholders.
Yusuf thanked critical stakeholders, sister agencies and the media for their collaborative efforts and synergy while carrying out the command’s statutory mandate in the state.
He also expressed his appreciation to the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR and his management team for their continued support as well as officers and men of the command.
The controller enjoined his men to remain focused and steadfast in discharging their assigned responsibilities.
