Customs Hand Over Seized N40.7m Petrol to NMDPRA in Lagos

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Friday handed over 1,650 jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for further investigation.

The seized product, valued at N40.7 million, was intercepted along smuggling routes in Lagos State over a nine-week period.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, Deputy Comptroller General Abubakar Aliyu, addressed journalists during the handover ceremony at the Customs Training College in Ikeja.

Adeniyi explained that the seizures were made between Badagry, Owode, Seme, and other border communities within Lagos.

“In the space of nine weeks, our operatives relentlessly intensified surveillance and enforcement operations across critical border communities,” Adeniyi stated.

“As a result, a total of 1,630 jerrycans of 25 litres each were intercepted across notorious smuggling routes, including Adodo, Seme, Oode Apa, Ajilete, Idjaun, Ilaro, Badagry, Idiroko, and Imeko axis. The total duty paid value of the PMS is N40.7m,” he added.

In addition to the jerrycans, the Customs chief disclosed that three tankers used for conveying the product were also intercepted. The tankers were carrying 60,000, 45,000, and 49,000 litres respectively, totalling 154,000 litres of PMS.

Adeniyi emphasised that the seizures were not accidental but the result of intelligence-driven operations by Operation Whirlwind, a special tactical unit established in 2024 to combat petroleum smuggling.

He stressed that the transportation of petroleum products is governed by a clear regulatory framework designed to prevent diversion, smuggling, hoarding, and economic sabotage.

“These items in question were found to have contravened the established Standard Operating Procedures of Operation Whirlwind,” he said.

The Customs boss warned that border corridors such as Owode, Seme, and Badagry remain sensitive economic arteries, adding that there would be no safe haven for economic saboteurs under his watch.

He explained that the handover to NMDPRA was in line with inter-agency collaboration protocols, ensuring due process, transparency, and regulatory integrity. While Customs enforces border control and anti-smuggling mandates, NMDPRA regulates distribution and ensures compliance with downstream state laws.

Earlier, Mrs Grace Dauda, representing NMDPRA, expressed concern over the smuggling of petroleum products, noting that it undermines local consumption policies.

“It is unfortunate that some businessmen try to smuggle the product out of the country,” Dauda said.

She called on the public to cooperate with authorities to curb economic sabotage.

Operation Whirlwind was launched by the Nigeria Customs Service in 2024 as a special tactical enforcement operation to crack down on the cross-border smuggling of petroleum products and other contraband threatening Nigeria’s economic security.