Afeni Takes Over Customs FOU ‘A’, Promises Hell for Smugglers

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’, Ikeja–Lagos, on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, formally welcomed Deputy Comptroller Oladapo Olukayode Afeni as the unit’s 30th Acting Comptroller, even as Comptroller Gambo Aliyu retired from the Service after a distinguished tenure.

The handing-over ceremony was held at the unit’s conference hall and brought together friends, colleagues and well-wishers of both the incoming and outgoing Comptrollers. Also in attendance were Acting Customs Area Controllers of the Port and Terminal Multipurpose Limited (PTML), Ogun 1 Area Command, and the Enugu/Ebonyi/Anambra command, among other senior officers and stakeholders.

In his inaugural address, Deputy Comptroller Afeni pledged “purposeful, professional and accountable leadership” in furtherance of the mandate of the Nigeria Customs Service.

He expressed appreciation for the confidence reposed in him by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and the Service’s management team. The Acting Comptroller said his administration would pursue “intelligence-led enforcement”, block revenue leakages, and protect Nigeria’s economic and security interests.

He emphasized that enforcement activities would be “firm, lawful and respectful of human dignity”, while legitimate trade would be facilitated through constructive engagement with traders, manufacturers, importers, exporters, customs brokers and other stakeholders.

He also called for stronger collaboration with sister security and law-enforcement agencies to combat trans-border crimes, including the illicit movement of drugs, arms, currencies, counterfeit goods and other prohibited items. He pledged attention to officers’ welfare, professional development, institutional discipline, and regular sporting activities to promote fitness, teamwork and work–life balance.

In his handing-over address, the immediate past Comptroller of the unit, retired Comptroller Gambo Aliyu, expressed gratitude and humility, marking the occasion as a formal transfer of leadership while reflecting on the responsibilities and challenges of commanding the unit.

He noted that his administration focused on combating smuggling, revenue fraud, concealment, under-declaration, false declaration, and the movement of prohibited goods.

Highlighting major operational successes, he reported the interception of 779 smuggling attempts involving items such as:
Over 20,900 bags of foreign parboiled rice
61 used vehicles
Thousands of used compressors and clothing items
Foreign poultry products
4,418 jerrycans of vegetable oil
12,606 parcels of cannabis weighing 6,194.3kg
2.30kg of cocaine
Over 3,000 jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit (76,505 litres)
22 elephant tusks weighing 130.84kg
These and other seizures had a total duty-paid value of ₦13,075,056,616.00.

On revenue recovery, Comptroller Aliyu reported remarkable performance between 10 December 2025 and 24 September 2026, with the unit recovering ₦3,192,511,547.52—representing 798% of its ₦400 million annual target for 2026, and a 776% increase over the ₦411,451,901.18 recovered in the same period in 2025. He attributed these achievements to “enhanced risk profiling, stricter compliance checks, targeted introspection into suspicious declarations, teamwork, professionalism and collaboration with sister agencies and stakeholders”, stressing that “no enforcement agency can succeed in isolation”.

Concluding his address, he welcomed and congratulated his successor, assuring him of a strong operational foundation and charging him to “lead with fairness, firmness, courage and sound judgment”. He thanked the officers for their loyalty, discipline and resilience, and prayed for the success of the new leadership, the continued growth of the Nigeria Customs Service, and the security of Nigeria.