News
Onne Customs Makes N4.1bn Seizures For Infractions
The Customs Area Controller (CAC) for Area ll Command, Onne Port, Auwal Mohammed, has urged officers and men in the area to be unrelenting and uncompromising in collection of revenue and implementation of government directives as they pertain to trade.
Consequently, the command has it would vigorously ensure zero tolerance for infractions as a way of boosting its N4.1billion seizures in the next quarter.
Mohammed said this when he released figures showing a total of N38,877,314,286.12 as revenue collected for the Federal Government for first quarter of 2021 by his command.
The collected figure is 69.4 per cent higher than N22,950,780,163.43 collected between January and March, 2020.
A breakdown of the 2021 monthly collections shows N12,123,024,011.82 for January; N12,760,546,062.07 for February; and N13,984,744,212.23 for March .
All monthly collections for this year have so far surpassed those of the first three months of 2020 with remarkable differences from which hovered at slightly above N7billion monthly.
On anti-smuggling, the command recorded a total of 12 seizure with a cumulative duty paid of N4,120,882,608.03.
The seizures comprises of two units of Used Mitsubishi buses; 210 bales of second hand clothing; 1,435pieces of used tyres; used engine gear box and auto spare parts; 310 pallets of laser ketchup and 20 bales of fabrics.
A month by month breakdown of the seizures indicates that four seizures were made in January which includes three containers and two suspects with duty paid value of N85,987,936.05.
In February, the command made three seizures involving four containers with total duty paid value of N45,527,836.00, while in March, 2021, it made five seizures involving seven containers with duty paid value of N3,989,366,808.89.
On export, the command processed 207,749.614 metric tonnes of cargoes with free on board value of $70,838,025.68 comprising of cashew nuts, ginger, hibiscus flower, sesame seeds, zircon sand, palm kernel, tiger nuts and many more.
Mohammed, under whose watch the command has recorded its highest monthly revenue collection of N13billion in the 38 year-old history of the command, also urged officers to avoid being complacent and keep doing more to improve on national economy, security and trade facilitation.
Mohammed said, “We are doing well but I believe there are rooms for improvement in revenue collection, anti smuggling, trade facilitation and robust stakeholders’ engagements.
“Every likely or identified area of government revenue leakages should be blocked for us to sustain the tempo of maximum collections. We owe Nigeria a duty to make smuggling of prohibited items impossible through this command.
“Our ability to detect attempts at duty evasion and issuing demand notices to collect complete revenue from importers and their agents will be improved upon relying on technology and hands-on experience.
“Duty evaders should steer clear from this area as they are likely to be arrested with their wares seized in accordance with extant provision of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA)
“While we await the deployment of scanners to aid our job, the due diligence employed in physical examinations to achieve outstanding results will be sustained and improved upon
“I hereby urge importers, exporters, licensed customs agents and freight forwarders interfacing with customs in Onne Port to see compliance as a key to unlock the many benefits derivable from their trade, investments and professions” , the CAC said.
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had lauded the courage and commitment of troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria.
Abubakar gave the commendation during a morale-boosting visit to the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI in Maiduguri, Borno.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, yesterday, in Abuja.
The CAS said their sacrifices were etched in the history of the nation, and in the hearts of millions of Nigerians who sleep safer because of the troops’ vigilance.
He emphasised that their bravery and resilience in the face of adversity have not gone unnoticed, saying his visit underscored the vital role airpower plays in neutralising threats and protecting communities.
Abubakar pledged continued investment in cutting-edge technology to empower frontline units.
According to him, the NAF remains steadfast in its mission, guided by leadership, strengthened by unity, and driven by the selfless service of its personnel.
The visit comes at a critical moment, reinforcing the importance of public support for military operations and spotlighting the human element at the heart of national defence.
Nigeria’s soft drinks and beverage market continues to show strong growth potential, making it the leading consumer of soft drinks in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association.
A statement by the VDMA disclosed during a press conference held in Lagos ahead of drinktec 2025, that Nigeria consumed over 53 billion litres of soft drinks in 2024, placing it well ahead of other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa.
Despite challenges such as inflation and a weakening naira, Nigeria’s growing population, rising urbanisation, and expanding middle class are key factors driving demand in the beverage sector.
Bottled water led the segment with 48.7 billion litres sold in 2024, a figure projected to rise by 27% to 62 billion litres by 2028.
Carbonated soft drinks followed with 3.4 billion litres, expected to reach 4.4 billion litres by 2028, while energy drinks are forecasted to grow by 30% over the same period. Juices, though relatively small, are also on an upward trajectory.
“The Nigerian beverage market is expanding quickly due to increasing accessibility and affordability,” VDMA stated, citing data from Euromonitor International.
Set to take place in Munich from 15 to 19 September 2025, drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.
VDMA, a key exhibitor and technical partner for the event, revealed that Nigerian participation is expected to be strong, especially as the country anticipates economic recovery.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned the recent ban placed on a song by Nigerian musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, describing the development as a return to the culture of censorship and a threat to the right to free expression.
Abdulkareem had waxed a song titled “Tell Your Papa” which criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued from New York University, Abu Dhabi, yesterday, Soyinka criticised the action and its wider implications, saying it echoed past attempts to stifle artistic and socio-political commentary in Nigeria.
“Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem,” Soyinka said in the piece posted on PM news.
He expressed irony in suggesting that the ban did not go far enough, stating, “It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is member, should also go under the hammer.”
Soyinka noted that he had not listened to the banned song but stressed that the issue transcends content and concerns a fundamental democratic principle.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely is basic. This is why I feel that we should look on the bright side of any picture and thus recommend the Aleshinloye cartoon – and others in allied vein – as an easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summation of the wisdom of attempting to stifle unpalatable works of art or socio-political commentary,” he said.
He also pointed out the irony that censorship often benefits the targeted artist.
The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he added.
The literary icon warned that such censorship was not only counterproductive but also dangerous to democratic development.
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseum. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” Soyinka said.
He warned that the ban creates “a permissive atmosphere of trickle-down power,” where state authorities feel emboldened to clamp down on dissent.
Soyinka’s statement also touched on broader issues of impunity and mob violence in Nigeria, lamenting the recent lynching of 19 youths in Edo State.
“My heart goes out to friends, colleagues and families of victims and traumatised survivors of this senseless slaughter. Our thirst for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
Referencing the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Soyinka criticised the culture of impunity, saying, “Identified killers were set free to gloat, and paste their photos on the Social Media… in full daylight glare, in the presence of both citizen voyeurs and security forces.”
He called for accountability, warning that “as long as the culture of impunity is given the sheerest strain of legitimacy in any given cause, such gruesome assaults on our common humanity will continue to prevail.”
Soyinka concluded by urging the relevant regulatory body to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that any government that only tolerates praise-singers “has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”