The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted 56 containers containing prohibited and improperly imported goods with a total duty-paid value of ₦5.53 billion, reaffirmed its commitment to protecting Nigerian farmers, manufacturers and businesses from unfair competition.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, while briefing newsmen at the Port Harcourt II Area Command in Onne, Rivers State.
Adeniyi said the seizures were the outcome of intelligence-driven and risk-based operations designed to prevent prohibited, restricted and improperly declared consignments from entering the Nigerian market.
He explained that unchecked importation of goods that could be produced or processed locally places additional pressure on domestic producers by exposing them to unfair competition, weakening demand for locally made products and discouraging investment across Nigerian value chains.
According to him, the situation is particularly significant in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, where large-scale importation of locally producible goods could undermine efforts to strengthen food security, create employment, promote local industries and diversify the economy.
“The intervention formed part of intelligence-driven and risk-based operations aimed at preventing prohibited, restricted and improperly declared consignments from entering the Nigerian market, thereby crippling the overall productivity of our local businesses,” the CGC said.
Adeniyi stressed that Customs enforcement was not intended to frustrate legitimate businesses, but to ensure that compliant traders operated within a fair, secure and predictable trading environment.
He said the Service’s risk-based approach enabled it to facilitate legitimate cargo while subjecting consignments considered high-risk to enhanced scrutiny.
The seized consignments comprised 45 20-foot containers of foreign vegetable oil, nine 40-foot containers of used clothing and two 20-foot containers of Channy tomato paste.
The Customs boss commended the Customs Area Controller, Port Harcourt II Area Command, Comptroller Aliyu Alkali, and officers of the command for the interceptions.
He also advised importers and other stakeholders to establish the admissibility of their intended imports before commencing transactions and ensure that declarations accurately reflect the description, quantity, value, origin and classification of their goods.
Adeniyi said the seizures were consistent with the Federal Government’s broader economic objectives, particularly policies aimed at promoting made-in-Nigeria products and strengthening domestic production.
