The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has intercepted and seized 20 diverted transit containers with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N769.5 million across Kano and Jigawa states between the second and fourth quarters of 2025.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale-Adeniyi, disclosed this during a press briefing at the Kano/Jigawa Area Command in Kano, describing the seizures as one of the Service’s most significant operational successes in recent times.
Adewale-Adeniyi said the operation underscored the NCS’s zero-tolerance stance against cargo diversion and other practices that undermine trade compliance and national security. He noted that the illegal diversion of transit cargo constitutes a serious violation of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, particularly provisions that require carriers and consignees to present goods in line with approved transit procedures.
According to him, the containers were initially routed from mother ports to designated inland terminals and Free Trade Zones but were unlawfully diverted by unscrupulous operators.
He disclosed that seven containers loaded with vitrified tiles valued at N228.5 million were intercepted along the Hadejia Road corridor after being diverted from the Kano Free Trade Zone. Two containers containing 1,188 drums of diesel engine oil, with a DPV of N87.5 million, were seized at private warehouses in the Dakata Industrial Area.
The Customs boss added that two other containers carrying polyester materials worth N78 million were also intercepted in Dakata, while a container conveying 308 bales of used clothing valued at N48.4 million was seized along the Yankaba–Hadejia Road axis.
He further revealed that four containers loaded with printed and lace fabrics, with a combined DPV of N226.1 million, were intercepted while en route to bonded terminals in Kano. In another intelligence-led operation on November 3, 2025, officers intercepted a container carrying 24,853 cartons of Zamzam bottled water valued at N21.4 million, noting that the importation violated Common External Tariff regulations.
Adewale-Adeniyi said three containers carrying medical consumables and lace fabrics worth N25.2 million were seized earlier in July, adding that two of them had already been forfeited to the Federal Government following an order of the Federal High Court in Kano on December 10. One container loaded with printed fabrics valued at N75 million, he said, remains under detention pending the conclusion of legal proceedings.
He also disclosed that a suspect, Abdulrahman Sani Adam, was convicted by the Federal High Court in Kano and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, with an option of a N3 million fine, for container diversion.
The Comptroller-General said the Service has intensified the deployment of electronic tracking devices to monitor transit cargo, stressing that the technology would soon be rolled out nationwide to curb diversion and smuggling.
He warned importers, freight forwarders and other stakeholders against non-compliance with transit procedures, reaffirming the NCS’s commitment to trade facilitation, revenue generation and national security, while urging the public to report suspicious activities to the nearest Customs office.
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