By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

If the South West, especially Lagos, accounts for 70% of Customs duty earnings on exports, it then follows that efforts by Lillypond Export Command in this regard is significant and responsible for such a huge tonnage value of total exports going out of Nigeria.

Customs Area Controller of the Lillypond Export Command, Comptroller Ajibola Odusanya disclosed this during a Roundtable with members of the Maritime Reporters’ Association Of Nigeria, MARAN at the International Press Centre, Apapa.

Insisting that there was no other Export Command in the whole of the South West region, even in the whole Nigeria, he informed that the special Command created in 2022 solely handle export goods is living up to expectations.

“At that period of its creation, although the command was handling only export, the command was not the sole export command at that time. The other commands around the port were still handling part of the export goods around here. We have export seats in Apapa, Tincan, PTML and even Lekki.

“But due to the directive from the government through PEBEC and pressures from other government agencies like the Nigerian Export Promotion Council and the Nigerian Ports Authority, there came a Memorandum of Understanding between the NPA and the customs to streamline all export processes to a command hence the Lillypond Export Command became the sole export command around the South West around July 2024. It was in July 2024 that the command became the only command processing sea bound export around Apapa area.”

He went on to inform that following the successful designation and take off of the Lillypond Export Command as the sole export processing command in Nigeria, other government agencies like the Department of State Services, DSS, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Nigerian Agriculture Quarantine Service among others deployed their officers dedicated to export to the Lillypond Export command.

“Before this arrangement, goods treated by maybe the NDLEA officers at Lillypond, on getting to Apapa or Tincan, you still have another NDLEA officers stopping them. That was the practice before, but with the collapse and also with the synergy that we have with other government agencies, goods treated by any government agency’s official at Lillypond now, no other officer of that particular agency will stop that container on its way to the port.

“Even customs, before the collapse, when export goods treated by Lillypond were moving to the port, Apapa and Tincan Ports export seat officers and their Enforcement Officers will still be stopping those containers either at the gate or inside the port. But now, we don’t have anything like that.

“Export goods treated by Lillypond, given the gate in, given their Eto to enter the port, will only be checked by Lillypond officers at the port gate to confirm that they have been duly treated in the office. And that checking does not mean that they will open the container, unless it is extremely necessary, maybe, based on intelligence. This is because jobs treated in the office are sent to our officers at the port gate online.

“Those coming by water because we have some exports coming by barges into the port too, it is the same process. Just as we have our officers at the gate, we also have our officers at the jetty. So, the place is so sanitized and automated that export goods now move seamlessly into the port either through road or through water”, he explained.

On movement of cargo by rail, the CAC said, “We have goods being moved by rail from outside Lagos to this place. Some come as far as from the North. We have this understanding with the customs commands outside here that goods coming by rail especially those already examined by our colleagues outside Lagos, they have a way of sending a message to us online and from there we do the shipping note and send everything into the port and may be message to the terminal operators, we don’t stop them because they have been examined by those people and they have sent the report to us.

“So, that is the synergy we have with our colleagues especially from the North. We have this understanding with Kano/Kaduna command.”

By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

The Customs Area Controller (CAC), Lilypond Export Command,
Mr Ajibola Odusanya says the internal port access roads in Apapa need to be cleared to ensure seamless movement of export containers into the ports for outward shipping.

This is even as he lauds the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for contributing significantly to export facilitation by creating the Electronic Call-up System (ETO) and EPTs at the ports.

Controller Odusanya who stated this in Apapa,Thursday, while interacting with members of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) at the International Press Centre, said his Command can now process exports within a few hours. But accessing the Export Processing Terminal (EPT) especially in Apapa Port is delayed due to traffic gridlock on the internal port access road.

Transferring export containers to Apapa Port, Odusanya stated, has become a challenge in recent times as priority is placed on exiting import containers out of the port.

However, he assured that the NPA and APM Terminals are working to improve on the port internal traffic.

The CAC announced that processing of exports at the dedicated Lilypond Port has improved significantly, reducing processing time to a few hours.

As part of the country’s deliberate plans to improve exportation of non-oil products, the Nigeria Customs Service and the NPA, in 2022, reached an agreement to make the Lilypond Port an export processing port.

Due to the presence of all relevant agencies in the export port, the Lilypond Port Customs Controller said, processing of export goods have become very fast and seamless, leading to processing of about $2 billion worth of exports from the port between July and December 2024.

“Since after the MoU between Customs and NPA to streamline export to Lilypond Command in July 2024 and the command became the only command processing sea- bound export, we processed about $2 billion in that period between July and December, 2024.

“In February, 2025, we processed $225 million. This achievement is made possible by collaboration with other government agencies and port stakeholders.

“We now have the DSS, NDLEA, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the quarantine service dedicated to export at Lilypond Port. Now, with synergy with these sister agencies, export goods treated at Lilypond port are not stopped by any other agency on its way to Apapa or Tincan port. Such export will only be checked by Lilypond Customs officers at the port gate and not necessarily to open the container, except there is a security alert.”

He noted that the NPA and the terminal operators would not allow the ugly port access road situation in Apapa in the past to return.

“If you go to Lilypond now you will see many containers there, but the problem is not with processing of the exports in Lilypond, but the logistics aspect of moving the containers to the ports.

“Sometimes, even when you have obtained your ETO, you won’t be able to access the port. You see the trucks lined up on the road with export containers on them. We have to work on this so that we don’t return to what it was before.
We have to keep working hard to maintain the sanity on the port road,” Comptroller Odusanya emphasised

By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

In a renewed onslaught against smuggling, the Seme-Krake Border Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), between February 11 and March 13, 2025, confiscated illicit drugs, premium motor spirit (petrol) and bags of foreign rice worth N267 million whose importation contravenes the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.

Customs Area Controller, Dr Ben Oramalugo disclosed this,Thursday, during his maiden press chat since assumption of office on February 11.

The import prohibited items include 181 packs of tramadol, 600 bottles of Codeine Syrup (100ml each) and 445 parcels of marijuana. Others are 240 jerrycans of premium motor spirit (PMS), 1,809 bags of foreign parboiled rice (50kg each), 17 sacks of used shoes, 56 bales of used clothes and 203 pieces of used tyres.

Pledging to deepen the campaign against smuggling in line with directives from the CGC, Adewale Adeniyi, Dr Oramalugo who appreciated the gains of inter-agency collaboration said he had engaged with key stakeholders including traditional rulers and security agencies to foster strong relationships, reinforce security measures and promote seamless trade facilitation in the border area.

“These engagements have facilitated improved intelligence-sharing and coordination, reinforcing our commitment to national security, economic regulation and the fight against smuggling. Our mission at Seme Area Command extends beyond revenue collection. It encompasses national security and economic growth which are best achieved through strong institutional partnerships.”

On revenue generation, Dr Oramalugo announced that in February alone, the Command generated N743.7million, following renewed strategies put in place to block revenue leakages and ensure maximum collection for national development.

The Command also facilitated a total of 28,395.293 metric tonnes of export produce, equivalent to 806 trailer trucks with a Free- On- Board (FOB) value of N7. 85bn.

Within the period in reference, he said, the Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) was paid N 39.260, 861.25k with a total surcharge of N2.433,433.00k.

Oramalugo reaffirmed the command’s commitment to leverage on trade facilitation initiatives to foster efficient, transparent and predictable trade environment thereby contributing to Nigeria’s growth and development.

He said, “Since taking over as the Area Controller, the Command has implemented strategic measures to enhance revenue generation, trade facilitation, anti-smuggling operations, and inter-agency collaboration. These efforts align with the mandate of the Nigeria Customs Service and the vision of the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi who has emphasized synergy among stakeholders to combat smuggling and strengthen border security.”

“Recognizing the importance of collaboration in achieving our objectives, I have engaged with key stakeholders, including traditional rulers and security agencies to foster strong relationships with stakeholders, reinforcing security measures and promoting seamless trade facilitation in the region.

“These engagements have facilitated improved intelligence-sharing and coordination, reinforcing our commitment to national security, economic regulation, and the fight against smuggling. Our mission at Seme Area Command extends beyond revenue collection—it encompasses national security and economic growth, which are best achieved through strong institutional partnerships.

“The achievements of the Seme Area Command within this short period are the result of the unwavering support of the CGC and his NCS Management Team, the dedication and professionalism of our officers, the effective deployment of intelligence-driven strategies and robust inter-agency collaboration as well as stakeholder engagement.”

He warned smugglers and their collaborators that their illegal activities will not be tolerated as the command is prepared more than ever to track, arrest, and prosecute offenders.

He advised people who think they cannot do without smuggling to have a rethink, embrace legitimate business that will make them contribute to national economic growth, rather than engaging in criminal activities that undermine the nation’s economy.

Receiving the illicit drugs as stipulated in the existing MOU on inter-agency collaboration, Fingeron Owen Dinneys, the Seme Area NDLEA Commander, pledged to commence investigations into the seized marijuana with a view to identifying and apprehending those responsible for the illegal importation.