The Nigeria Customs Service has intensified its campaign against smuggling in Adamawa and Taraba states, with Comptroller Garba Bashir leading a renewed offensive targeting illegal petroleum exports.
Bashir revealed that within four months, his command intercepted and seized petroleum products worth over N195.7 million in duty-paid value.
Speaking to journalists in Yola, he emphasized that fuel smuggling was aggravating the nation’s economic woes and placing undue hardship on ordinary Nigerians.
“This is a defining moment for our country, and every citizen must rise in support of the government’s efforts,” Bashir urged.
He stressed that fuel smuggling poses a grave risk to both the economy and national security, undercutting domestic supply chains and frustrating President Tinubu’s energy reforms.
“These acts of sabotage are not just criminal—they are a betrayal of national interest,” he said.
Bashir warned that smugglers, driven by selfish profit motives, were exploiting border loopholes to ferry petroleum to neighbouring nations, depriving Nigerians of much-needed energy resources.
He reiterated the service’s determination to intensify enforcement operations and deploy additional manpower to dismantle smuggling networks.
In addition to fuel seizures, the command also confiscated trucks and other vehicles used in smuggling, along with prohibited items like elephant tusks and alcohol. For the first time, suspects are being prosecuted at the Federal High Court in Yola.