By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced plans to launch intelligence-driven special operations targeting the smuggling of vegetable oil into the country.
This forms part of efforts to protect local investments, preserve jobs and support Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this during a meeting with stakeholders in the vegetable oil industry in Abuja.
Adeniyi said the Service is strengthening enforcement measures through intelligence gathering, strategic operations and closer collaboration with industry stakeholders to tackle illicit trade and safeguard legitimate businesses.
According to a statement on Wednesday by Customs spokesperson, Abdulahi Maiwada, Adeniyi says Customs and operators in the vegetable oil sector share a common goal of promoting investment, boosting local production and strengthening the economy.
“Fighting smuggling is a continuous process that requires intelligence, policy support and collaboration. We value constructive engagement with stakeholders and will continue to strengthen our partnership with the private sector,” he said.
Also speaking, Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Enforcement, Inspection and Investigation, Timi Bomodi, revealed that the Service recorded significant seizures of smuggled vegetable oil products in recent years.
He said Customs intercepted 65 consignments of vegetable oil in 2025 and an additional 23 seizures in 2026, with a combined Duty Paid Value (DPV) of about ₦1.314 billion.
Bomodi noted that many of the seizures were made along major smuggling routes, including Seme and Idiroko border corridors, adding that surveillance would be intensified in other identified hotspots.
Leading the industry delegation, Fatai Afolabi, commended Customs for engaging stakeholders and urged the Service to sustain efforts against smuggling.
He warned that the illegal importation of vegetable oil continues to undermine local production, discourage investment and threaten thousands of jobs across the sector.
The planned special operations form part of the NCS’s broader strategy to curb smuggling, protect local industries and promote economic growth through enhanced border security and stakeholder collaboration.
