Compt Gambo Reinforces Alliance with NDLEA, Police, Alake of Egbaland, As Customs FOU ‘A’ Burst 2-Tonnes of Cannabis in 3-Months
Potpourri of pictures from the courtesy visit embarked upon by Comptroller of Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit Zone A Ikeja Lagos, to strategic stakeholders in Ogun State on Monday, including his Royal Highness, Alake of Egbaland
The Comptroller of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone A, Ikeja-Lagos, Comptroller Gambo Aliyu, on Monday paid strategic courtesy visits to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Ogun State Command, the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, and the paramount ruler of Egbaland, the Alake, Oba (Dr.) Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, deepening interagency collaboration and traditional institution partnerships in the war against smuggling and drug trafficking along the Ogun corridor.
The visits, which took place across Ogun State, came on the heels of a significant operational record set by Compt Aliyu since assuming duty at the FOU ‘A’ on December 10, 2025.
Compt. Aliyu disclosed that within three months, he and his team have seized over 4,000 packages of Cannabis Indica within its jurisdiction, with a combined weight exceeding two tonnes.
Addressing the NDLEA Ogun State Commander, Compt. Aliyu disclosed that 60 percent of the intercepted drugs originated from the Ogun corridor, 20 percent from the Seme-Badagry axis, and the remaining 20 percent from the Oyo-Osun corridor.
He noted that the recent coordinated onslaught against illicit drug smuggling had come at a painful cost, the death of one of his officers.
“Since I assumed duty on the 10th of December 2025, I and my team have taken out over 4,000 packages of Cannabis Indica along the corridor with a combined weight of over 2 tonnes. This underscores the importance we place on keeping the bad guys out of play. We know that together we can achieve much greater heights and Nigeria would be better off,” he said.
He reaffirmed the FOU Zone A’s commitment to the Comptroller-General’s mandate of zero tolerance for illicit imports, stressing that interagency cooperation was indispensable to dismantling smuggling supply chains.
Responding, NDLEA Ogun State Commander, Commander Tijani Rabe, described the visit as unprecedented, noting it was the first of its kind since the command was created, and a signal of the FOU Zone A’s expansive operational understanding.
“The Customs and NDLEA, I wouldn’t say they are twins, they are not. They are like a bigger brother and a younger brother,” Commander Rabe said, referencing the historical roots of both agencies and the narcotic unit that existed within Customs before NDLEA’s establishment under Decree 49 of 1989.
He assured of full collaboration going forward, saying that “Visits such as this open windows for strategic collaborations. This visit has sown a seed of professional collaboration between us and the Federal Operations Unit that it hardly would not exist without you.”
At the Ogun State Police Command, Commissioner of Police Lanre Ogunlowo commended the NCS for its border security efforts, while acknowledging shared challenges, including the killing of a customs officer by smugglers, a matter he said the police were still investigating.
“We don’t have a choice than to continue working together. What we have working here in Ogun State is very excellent — all the agencies have different mandates but we work together so well based on interagency cooperation,” CP Ogunlowo said.
He also noted concerns raised by the Ogun State Assembly over the proliferation of checkpoints, adding that steps were being taken to address the issue.
“In Ogun State, when we get intelligence in the border area, we share with our colleagues, and this has given us relative peace,” he added.
At the palace of the Alake of Egbaland, Oba (Dr.) Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, Compt. Aliyu appealed for the royal institution’s moral authority in the fight against smuggling and drug abuse, describing the twin vices as threats to the nation’s youth and economic fabric.
The Alake commended the Customs unit for sustaining federal revenue targets and keeping unwholesome goods out of circulation.
“I know what you go through all the time, it is not easy to collect revenue from people. It is not easy to be an agent of government collecting duty. There are some people in this State that are Fayawo (smugglers) we have continued to educate them to get a better job, to give them another occupation so that they would stop dodging customs officers,” the royal father said, before releasing royal blessings on the Comptroller and his entourage.
The highpoint of each visit was the presentation of souvenirs to the heads of the respective agencies and to the Alake.
