Nigeria Customs Service seizes billions in smuggled oil, cannabis and expired drugs, seeks deeper US trade ties

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has conducted several large‑scale interceptions. In the southeast, Federal Operations Unit Zone C seized more than 3,300 jerrycans of foreign vegetable oil valued at roughly ₦403 million, describing the haul as a “major blow to economic saboteurs”.

At Lagos’s Apapa Port, NCS officers, working with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, confiscated a 40‑foot container of cannabis sativa (about 1.8 tonnes) and two containers of expired pharmaceutical products, together worth an estimated N12.8 billion. Officials said the operation prevented harmful substances from reaching the market and highlighted the scale of attempted economic sabotage.

Customs leadership is also broadening engagement with the private sector. Comptroller‑General Adewale Adeniyi announced plans to institutionalise regular dialogue between NCS and the American Business Council to streamline cargo clearance, improve trade facilitation and strengthen Nigeria‑US commercial relations. He noted ongoing reforms such as the Advance Ruling system and the Authorised Economic Operator programme.

The service further reaffirmed its role in drug‑abuse prevention, joining multi‑agency stakeholders at a conference in Ilorin, Kwara State, to discuss collaborative strategies against substance abuse and trafficking.