Kwara Customs Unleashes Fury on Smugglers: N1.2bn Seizures in Weeks as Officers’ Grit Powers Zero-Tolerance Blitz
Ilọrin, Kwara State – January 13, 2026 – Smugglers beware: Kwara’s borders are sizzling under a relentless crackdown! Acting Area Controller of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Kwara Command, Comptroller Najeem Akanmu Ogundeyi, electrified a packed press conference today by parading jaw-dropping seizures worth N1,219,209,369 – all in under a month of his iron-fisted leadership. This explosive haul spotlights the command’s turbo-charged shift to intelligence-fueled ops, Customs Act 2023 rigor, and unyielding professionalism, turning porous frontiers into no-go zones for economic vampires.
Warmly welcoming distinguished press corps, security agency heads, senior NCS officers, esteemed stakeholders, and ladies and gentlemen, Ogundeyi kicked off with deep gratitude to Comptroller General Dr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, and NCS top brass for their trust in his appointment. “I warmly welcome you all to this press conference,” he boomed, before unleashing the briefing’s bombshell: “Today’s event formally presents to the public and stakeholders the seizures recorded within less than a month of my assumption – underscoring our core mandates of revenue generation, smuggling suppression, and legitimate trade facilitation.”
From his first day, Ogundeyi slammed down directives for zero-compromise enforcement, and boy, have they delivered fireworks. Through dawn patrols, razor-sharp intel, and non-stop ops across Kwara’s treacherous borderlines – from Benin Republic smuggling trails to dusty expressways – officers pounced on illicit cargoes with surgical precision. The glittering rogue’s gallery? 389 bales of second-hand clothing and 108 sacks of used bags, snatched at 0434 hours on the Ogbomosho-Iyankorin expressway, starving local tailors of fair play. Then, 6,500 litres of black-market Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at Bukuro axis bases, enough to choke fuel queues. Don’t forget 450 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice (22.5 tonnes!) at Okuta patrols, undercutting rice farmers nationwide. Luxury rides under detention for probes: a gleaming new 2025 Toyota Landcruiser VX, matching Lexus LX 600 (both nabbed together at Bode Saada), and a 2016 Mercedes Benz GLE350 at Okuta. Rounding it off, 170 used tires seized on Lagos-Jebba road – all totaling that mouth-watering Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N1,219,209,369.
“These seizures scream it loud: smuggling ends here under my watch – lawbreakers will rot in court,” Ogundeyi thundered, crediting his “gallant officers and men” for their blood-and-sweat heroics in brutal wee-hour raids and rugged terrains. “Their dedication, resilience, and professionalism fueled these triumphs,” he beamed, hailing a team that’s flipped Kwara Command from hotspot to stronghold. Local security analyst Mallam Yusuf Adebayo called it “a game-changer,” noting how these wins could reclaim billions lost yearly to syndicates distorting markets, spiking inflation, and gutting jobs in textiles, farming, and auto sectors.
Kwara’s northwest corridors – Jebba, Okuta, Bode Saada, Bukuro – have long been smugglers’ playgrounds, with rice floods starving millers, fuel diversions hiking pump prices, and used goods killing factories. But no more: “Kwara Area Command is no safe haven! We’ll unleash every lawful weapon to shield Nigeria’s economy,” Ogundeyi roared. Stakeholders erupted in applause, praising the parade’s transparency for forging police-immigration synergies and deterring cartels amid 2026’s fiscal rebound.
Ogundeyi painted NCS as “partners in progress, not enemies,” begging communities for tip-offs: “Your intel is our ammo.” He pledged sustained blitzes with human-rights guardrails, eyeing drones, AI trackers, and morale boosters to lock down flanks. “Customs guards borders to build prosperity,” he assured, as cheers echoed.
This isn’t just seizures – it’s a declaration of war on economic saboteurs, with Kwara leading the charge.