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‎By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎In a renewed effort to add more bite and ensure strict compliance to laws and regulations guiding Nigeria’s freight forwarding industry, the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) will, come January 30, relaunch and recommission her Compliance Team at its new office location at Eleganza Plaza, Apapa.
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‎Mr Bartholomew Okeke, Chief of Staff to the NAGAFF Compliance Team, disclosed this in Apapa, Tuesday.
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‎Mr. Okeke explained that the Compliance Team, inaugurated in February 2021, serves as NAGAFF’s enforcement and intervention arm.
‎The interventionist body executes legitimate directives of the National President to ensure that freight forwarders and relevant government agencies comply with extant rules and regulations.
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‎“Where there is infringement from either practitioners or government agencies, we intervene. That is why it is called the Compliance Team. We are not confrontational by default; we are interventionist,” he said.
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‎ Following the takeover of the former office by the plaza management for other uses, he explained, it became necessary to relocate to another block within the same complex. So, the exercise goes beyond reopening an office.
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‎“We are not just recommissioning an office; we are relaunching ourselves more forcefully. We want people to know that we are not just back—we are forward-looking and fully committed to ensuring that all extant laws guiding the freight forwarding industry are strictly observed,” Okeke stated.
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‎On challenges faced by the Compliance Team in the past, Okeke identified non-compliance by both operators and some government agency personnel, often driven by personal interests.
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‎“There are people among government agencies who are out for their own pockets. When we confront such issues head-on with facts and institutional backing, they comply. We are connected to relevant authorities and we escalate issues of non-compliance appropriately,” he said. He assured that going forward, the Compliance Team plans to adopt a more engagement-driven approach rather than confrontation.

‎“The next phase is deeper engagement with agencies and stakeholders. It’s not all about fighting; it’s about facilitating trade. We want practical engagement, dialogue, and a think-tank approach to address challenges head-on,” he explained.
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‎On the level of compliance in the industry, Okeke said automation and reduced human interference have improved adherence to procedures, placing compliance at about 60 percent.
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‎“It’s not satisfactory yet, but we are moving forward. Our target is at least 90 percent compliance. There is no foolproof system, but our job is to educate, re-educate, and ensure reasonable compliance,” he added.
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‎ Being the umbrella body of freight forwarders in Nigeria, NAGAFF boasts of the largest membership in the sector, he reaffirmed.
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‎“When NAGAFF speaks, the industry listens. We represent the industry optimally,” he said, adding that continuous training remains central to the association’s philosophy of operating strictly on the side of the law.
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‎ Okeke recalled NAGAFF’s opposition to arbitrary increases in terminal and shipping line charges, including protests and engagements with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council that led to stakeholder meetings and moderated outcomes.
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‎“We do not shy away from defending our members and the economy. Whenever there are arbitrary charges, we are at the front line,” he explained.
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‎NAGAFF has over 1,000 members across various chapters nationwide, with the Compliance Team present in all major ports.
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‎Following the recommissioning, the Compliance Team plans to embark on advocacy visits to the Eastern Ports and Port Harcourt to reinforce its message of compliance and alliance-building.
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‎“There must always be room for discipline. We are the mirror of NAGAFF, and we must uphold its image,” Okeke said.
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‎Friday’s recommissioning ceremony will be graced by top dignitaries including the NAGAFF National President, Chief Tochukwu Ezisi, the Founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, the Board of Trustees Chairman, Customs representatives, and other key stakeholders.
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‎By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎In her unwavering  efforts to ensure that killer – drugs do not find entry into Nigeria, the Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has, in liaison with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), intercepted a 347.5 kilograms of ‘Canadian Loud’ concealed in an imported Toyota Sienna car.  The highly – valued substance is a potent strain of cannabis, ordinarily known as marijuana.

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‎As stated in a press release by CSC Isah Suleiman, the Apapa Customs Command Public Relations Officer, the contraband  hidden in 13 bags within one of four vehicles contained in a single consignment was discovered following a painstaking weighing exercise. A  breakdown shows ten bags at 25kg each, one at 29kg, and two at 34.5kg and 34kg respectively, totaling 347.5kg.
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‎This interception marks the fourth major joint drug bust by the Nigeria Customs, Apapa Command and the NDLEA in less than two months.
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‎In his remarks, the Apapa Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba re-enacted his warning to criminal elements and their networks to keep off the Command as the Command is always ahead of them to exploit whatever antics they deploy to undermine national security via the ports.
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‎“Any attempt by criminal elements to traffic prohibited items through Apapa Port will be detected and thwarted. We remain vigilant and resolute in the discharge of our duty to protect our society and national security.”
‎He emphasized that under his watch, no cargo, whether import or export will pass through Apapa Port without thorough examination.
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‎The operation also reflects the exemplary cooperation between Customs and NDLEA, championed by the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, PhD. Intelligence sharing and joint tactical efforts have consistently outmaneuvered smuggling networks in Nigeria’s maritime sector.
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‎Oshoba credited this strengthened partnership for the success, noting that the upcoming deployment of a high-capacity drive-through scanner capable of processing 200 containers per hour will further revolutionize anti-smuggling operations.
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‎Both agencies continue to operate under strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that foster zero tolerance, professionalism, and seamless cooperation. In line with established protocols, the seized cannabis has been formally handed over to the NDLEA for further investigation and prosecution of suspects linked to the consignment.
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‎This latest success builds on the recognition accorded to Comptroller Oshoba and NDLEA Apapa Special Area Commander Mohammed Tukur, who were both awarded the WCO Certificate of Merit on January 26, 2026, in Abuja during the International Customs Day celebrations.
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‎Oshoba further explained that the interception aligns with the 2026 ICD theme: “Customs Protecting Society Through Vigilance and Commitment.”
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‎While Customs remains committed to facilitating legitimate trade, the CAC reaffirmed, it will intensify efforts to disrupt illicit activities and safeguard society.
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‎By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎The Customs Area Controller (CAC), Seme Border Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Adewale Adenuga has vowed a continuous raid of the Badagry Roundabout and other notorious points where miscreants  assemble and sell  smuggled rice.
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‎Just as the Command is taking the fight to smugglers in their routes inside the bush, he explained, it has equally sustained surveillance on other identified distribution points of the smuggled goods  in market places.
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‎Consequent upon this, Adenuga disclosed that the anti- smuggling officers of the command raided the selling point of smuggled rice at the Badagry market on January 21st, 2026 where they impounded over 200 bags of smuggled rice.

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‎The CAC disclosed this at Seme Command, Wednesday, while exchanging views with the Tunde Ayodele-led Executive members of the Caretaker Committee of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) who were on a courtesy visit.
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‎” We have just raided the Badagry Roundabout where these smuggled rice are being assembled and sold.
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‎” We had on several occasions warned them to desist from this act and leave the place.
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‎”We have even asked the Oba of Badagry on my last visit to his palace before his death to appeal to these people to vacate the point of sale of the smuggled rice”
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‎” They will smuggle the rice through the creeks and then will now come to that place and be selling.
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‎”So if you go there now, you’ll see that it has been cleared” Comptroller Adenuga explained.
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‎On revenue generation, he announced that few weeks into 2026, the  Seme Command has maintained the high momentum of generation it had in 2025 as it has collected about 2 billion in the first three weeks of the new year. His men and officers, he maintained, are fired up to surpass the revenue figures recorded last year.
‎It is recalled that Seme Command recorded the sum of N15.6 billion in 2025 with N3.6billion of the total revenue collected in the month of December.
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‎He maintained that with the continuous support of the Comptroller – General, Wale Adeniyi and his management team, Seme border will continue to sustain the momentum that propelled the officers into 2026.
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‎While pledging to cooperate with MARAN on mutually -beneficial programmes Adenuga promised that Seme Command would maintain a steady course on revenue generation and will never ease the step on the anti- smuggling pedal in the new year.
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‎Earlier in his address, MARAN Caretaker Committee Chairman, Mr Tunde Ayodele, congratulated the Controller on his assumption of duties as the head of Seme command, a feat he said was a testament to his rising profile as a committed customs officer and a reflection of the confidence of the management of the NCS in his managerial acumen to head the busiest border command of the Customs.
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‎Ayodele assured Comptroller Adenuga of the support and collaboration of MARAN to ensure that he succeeds in his assignment.
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‎The MARAN Caretaker Chairman noted that the association has noted with keen interest the vibrancy and transformation in the border operations at Seme which Comptroller Adenuga has brought within the short time he assumed duties.
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‎”We are not surprised at the level of transformation and burst of activities you brought to Seme border operations, given your performance trajectory from your previous duty posts, especially at the Apapa Command where you were the unseen hands in the unprecedented revenue generation witnessed at the Customs’ flagship command when you were DC revenue” the MARAN chief recalled.
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‎Meanwhile, the Comptroller- General of NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, has paid a condolence visit to the palace of Oba of Badagry through Comptroller Wale Adenuga.
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‎According to Adenuga, he went to the palace of the late King on January 21st, 2026 on behalf of CGC Adeniyi to commiserate with the people and chiefs of Badagry Kingdom on the death of their first class monarch.
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