The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), says it has raked in 1.75 trillion as revenue for the first quarter of 2025.
The Customs comptroller-general, Adewale Adeniyi, who disclosed this during a Press briefing on the activities of the Nigeria Customs Service for the first quarter of 2025 in Abuja, said he is proud that they have exceeded this year’s target by 106.5 billion naira, achieving 106.47 percent of their quarterly projection.
Adeniyi noted that the outstanding performance represents a substantial 29.96 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024, where they collected 1.35 trillion naira.
He said January’s collection of 647.88 billion naira not only surpassed its monthly target of 548.33 billion naira by 18.12 per cent but also showed a remarkable 65.77 per cent year-on-year growth while February’s 540.11 billion naira exceeded its target by 1.3 percent, achieving 19.97 percent growth over 2024 figures.
Adeniyi said March maintained this positive trend with 563.52 billion naira, delivering 2.7 per cent above target and an 11.22 per cent improvement over March 2024.
He said the service recorded 298 seizures, with a total duty paid value (DPV) of 7.7 billion naira, representing an increase of 78.41 per cent compared to the 4.32 billion naira recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Adeniyi said the achievement indicated improved operational effectiveness, adding that compared to the 9.59 billion naira recorded in the first quarter of 2024, the service observed a 19.70 per cent reduction in DPV.
He said the reduction is due to improved compliance, facilitated by sustained stakeholders’ engagements and the deterrent effect of the service’s enforcement activities.
The Customs Chief, noted that Rice remained the most prevalent seized commodity, with 159 cases involving 135,474 bags valued at 939.31 million naira, petroleum products followed with 61 seizures totalling 65,819 litres 43.34million naira DPV, also 22 narcotics interceptions valued at 730.75 million naira reflecting intensified focus on combating drug trafficking while three high-value wildlife product seizures with a remarkable 5.65 billion naira was also achieved.
The comptroller-general said other notable seizures included 13 cases of textile fabrics valued at 134.22 million naira DPV and five cases of retreaded tyres all valued at 104.60 million naira DPV, with one pharmaceutical case valued at 17.19 million naira DPV.
Adeniyi said in the first quarter, the NCS processed 327,928 single goods declarations for imports and also handled goods with a total mass of 4.91 billion kilogrammes and a Cost, Insurance, and Freight value of 14.81 trillion naira.
Adeniyi stated that it underscored the lucrative nature of the illegal trade and the NCS’s commitment to environmental protection under the extant international conventions.
He said the comprehensive results demonstrate the service’s vigilance across all the categories of prohibited and restricted goods.
