DC Oladipo Afeni
By Frontline Reporters
At Nigeria’s volatile western frontier with Benin Republic, long regarded as a haven for smuggling syndicates and illicit trade, a notable shift is underway. The Ogun I Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service is tightening its grip on one of the country’s most porous and economically sensitive corridors — and at the centre of this renewed offensive is Deputy Comptroller Oladapo Afeni.
In just 41 days, the Command recorded seizures of contraband valued at ₦6.77 billion, a figure that not only reflects the scale of criminal enterprise operating through the Idiroko axis but also signals a sharpened enforcement posture under Afeni’s leadership. From narcotics to petroleum products, rice, counterfeit drugs, and endangered wildlife, the breadth of interceptions points to a coordinated and intelligence-driven crackdown.
For decades, Idiroko has embodied a dual identity — a vital trade gateway and a thriving corridor for illicit flows. Smuggling networks have exploited weak points in border surveillance, moving everything from foreign rice and fuel to hard drugs and prohibited goods. What is changing now is not just the volume of enforcement, but its precision.
Adewale Adeniyi ‘MFR’ CG Customs
The Command’s most striking breakthrough includes the interception of over 10,000 parcels of cannabis indica weighing more than 4,600 kilograms, alongside thousands of additional seizures of cannabis sativa. Beyond narcotics, officers have also intercepted thousands of bags of foreign rice, tens of thousands of litres of smuggled fuel, counterfeit pharmaceuticals, expired food products, and even live pangolins — a stark reminder of the environmental dimension of cross-border crime.
Under Afeni, enforcement at Idiroko is increasingly shaped by intelligence gathering, surveillance coordination, and inter-agency collaboration rather than routine patrols alone. This shift reflects a broader transformation within the Nigeria Customs Service, which is steadily embracing technology-driven operations under its current leadership structure.
Yet the strategy is not purely about disruption. The Command also generated ₦125.43 million in revenue through baggage assessments and auctioned petroleum products, while facilitating over ₦1 billion in exports. This dual approach underscores a modern reality: effective border management must balance aggressive anti-smuggling operations with legitimate trade facilitation.
What is emerging at Idiroko, therefore, is more than a spike in seizures. It is the portrait of a changing enforcement culture — one that suggests a new generation of Customs leadership is taking shape, defined by discipline, intelligence-led operations, and a sharper understanding of the evolving architecture of transnational crime.
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