20 diverted transit containers worth 769.5 million combined Duty Paid Value (DPV) have been intercepted across the Kano/Jigawa axis by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adeniyi, said the seizures were the result of intelligence-driven enforcement operations conducted in Kano over a press conference on Friday.
He attributed the success to ongoing surveillance and targeted operations aimed at destroying organized cargo diversion networks that were in place along major transit corridors.
Adeniyi characterized cargo diversion as a grave economic crime with damaging effects on Nigeria’s standing in international trade and its security.
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“Cargo diversion is a serious offence that devalues Nigeria’s standing in global commerce, compromises national security, and undermines government revenues. He declared that the Nigeria Customs Service would use all legal means to catch, deter, and punish offenders.
A wide range of items were discovered in the seized containers, including zomzam bottled water, used clothing, printed and lace fabrics, diesel engine oil, polyester materials, vitrified tiles that had been illegally removed from the Kano Free Trade Zone and had a DPV of 228,6 million. According to the Common External Tariff (CET) regulations, some of the items fall under prohibited imports.
Adeniyi further revealed that two containers filled with medical supplies were forfeited to the Federal Government following a judgment rendered by the Federal High Court, Kano Division, on December 10, 2025, while one of the seized containers was still in detention pending the conclusion of legal proceedings.
He also confirmed one Abdulrahman Sani Adam’s arrest, prosecution, and conviction for container diversion. The convict was given a three-year prison term with the option of receiving a $3 million fine, a move that the CGC described as a powerful deterrent to economic saboteurs.
Adeniyi announced the nearly complete deployment of electronic container tracking devices across the nation in an effort to further strengthen transit cargo control nationwide.
He explained that the technology set up alerts for tampering from ports to inland locations, as well as real-time container monitoring and route compliance.
The CGC reawakened the Service’s commitment to border security, trade facilitation, and revenue protection, and warned that smugglers and their associates would face retaliation, forfeiture of goods, and forfeiting trading privileges.
Source: Channels TV
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