Oyo/Osun Customs Generates N30bn, Seizes 2,540 Parboiled Rice, 101 Bags Of Cannabis Sativa, Arrests 24 Suspects
Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
Reported By Abimbola Obatayo, Ibadan
Oyo/Osun Customs Command has declared the sum of Thirty Billion Naira (30,000,000,000.00k) as the generated revenue for the month of January to November 2019 as against the generated revenue of last year of the same period with generated Twenty One Billion, Nine Hundred and Fifty Four Million, Two Hundred and Eighty Six Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighty One Naira and Ten Kobo (N21,954,286,381.10K).
While addressing Journalists today 18th December at the Command Headquarters in Ibadan, the Comptroller Abdullahi Zulkifli said that “the Command has increased it’s generated revenue by 59%, and also have reduced the level of smuggling and banditary to the bearest minimum and we have made a seizure with a Duty Paid Value of Five Hundred and Eighteen Million, Five Hundred and Ninety Thousand, Four Handred and Thirteen Naira.(N518,590,413.00k).
The Command also arrested 24 Suspects in connection to the seizures, while 21 are on bail, one charged to court and Two convicted.
Comptroller Zulkifli, while giving the detail analysis of the seizures said ” the command was able to record some seizures, and the most remarkable and striking one of them is the seizures of One Thousand and Fourty (1, 040) SK Blocks with One Hundred and One (101) bags of Cannabis Sativa with Duty Paid Value put at One Hundred and Fifty Nine Million and Seventy Thousand (N159, 070, 000.00k) arrested on September 29, 2019.
“The foreign Parboiled Rice seizures of 2,540 (50kg) bags worth Duty Value Paid at (N72, 006,060.00k), while the vehicles,using in conveying those goods are 25 vehicles with the Duty Paid Value at (N31, 153, 961.00k).
“The seizured Tokunbo Vehicles is 12, with the Duty Paid Value (N27, 224, 521.00k), the Command also made a seizure of (15) bags of Sugar with Duty Paid Value (N225, 500. 00k), we have also made seizures of Three (3) Motorcycles with the Duty Paid Value of (N162, 446, 00k), our Command also made seizures of the Second Hand Clothes and Shoes of (40) bales with Duty Paid Value of (N4, 001,350.00K).
“While the contraband Tyres we seizure is 500 pieces with the Duty Paid Value of (N8, 122,275.00k), while the total Duty Paid Value of all seizures items is put at One Hundred and Forty Two Million, Eight Hundred and Ninety Six Thousand, One Hundred and Thirteen Naira only (N142, 896, 113.00K).
While speaking on the effect of the border closure, the Comptroller Abdullahi Zulkifli said ” the border closure is succeeding, this has reduced the smaggling and banditary activities in our society.
“The border closure issue is now affecting us positively, as our farmers now smile to the bank because most of the rice in market now are locally made rice, it us hardly for you to see a foreign rice like it use to be before.
“Most of the rice you now see at the Nigeria market today are our farmers rice, they are produced here in Nigeria and that is the essence of the border closure, you Know, no government can combact smuggling to an halt but we have gone extra mile in curbing the menace to the bearest minimum.” Zulkifli said.
