The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, has seized smuggled goods with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N79.86 million in a series of anti-smuggling operations conducted across the two states over five weeks.
The seized items include 16,825 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, 501 cartons of foreign bar soap, 266 bags of foreign parboiled rice, second-hand clothing and a Mitsubishi Canter truck used to transport some of the contraband.
Comptroller MA Tako, the Customs Area Controller, Adamawa/Taraba Area Command, disclosed this during a press briefing at the command’s headquarters in Yola on Friday, October 23, 2026.
Tako said the seizures followed intelligence-led operations and surveillance along border communities and suspected smuggling routes, particularly around Ribadu, Sahuda, Wuro Alhaji-Maiha, Belel-Goshidan and Maiha-Mubi.
According to him, the operations were part of the service’s efforts to curb smuggling, protect the Nigerian economy and prevent the unlawful movement of prohibited goods across the country’s borders.
Giving details of the interceptions, Tako said officers raided the River Benue bank along the Ribadu axis on August 16, where they discovered 451 cartons of foreign bar soap allegedly stockpiled for smuggling. He said the suspects abandoned the goods and fled into the bush when the officers arrived.
He added that 374 jerrycans of petrol, each with a capacity of 25 litres, were intercepted along a bush path in Sahuda, near the Nigeria-Cameroon border, on August 20.
The command also intercepted a Mitsubishi Canter truck with registration number XB 566 GML along the Wuro Alhaji-Maiha axis on September 14.
The vehicle was carrying 116 bags of foreign parboiled rice, each weighing 50kg, and 50 cartons of foreign soap.
In another operation on September 21, officers discovered 299 jerrycans of petrol, each containing 25 litres, along an unapproved route on the Belel-Goshidan axis. The fuel was allegedly intended to be smuggled out of the country.
Tako further disclosed that officers seized 150 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 20 bags of local maize weighing 100kg each, 11 bales of second-hand clothing and five jumbo sacks of used clothing along a bush path on the Maiha-Mubi axis on October 2.
He said the seizures were made in accordance with the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, and relevant provisions of the Common External Tariff, including the import prohibition list.
The controller commended the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and the service’s management for providing the resources and logistical support needed to strengthen anti-smuggling operations.
He also praised the officers involved in the interceptions for their vigilance and commitment, urging members of the public to provide credible information about suspicious activities in their communities.
Tako called on the media to sustain public awareness campaigns on the economic and security consequences of smuggling, stressing that cooperation between security agencies and communities was essential to protecting the country’s borders and promoting economic growth.