By Stella Okocha
Harboursandport.com:Lagos- July 11, 2025:The Comptroller General of Customs, CGC Adewale Adeniyi, has announced the ban on stemming of pharmaceutical products at bonded terminals, as he hands over 25 containers of unregistered and prohibited pharmaceutical products with a Duty Paid Value, DPV, of N9.2 billion to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC.
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| Comptroller General of Customs, CGC Adewale Adeniyi |
Speaking at the hand over ceremony at the Apapa Port, Adeniyi said examination of all pharmaceutical products will now be restricted to only four Customs Commands across the country.
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| Containers of Unregistered And Prohibited Pharmaceutical Products |
The Customs boss said the four Customs Commands are Apapa, PTML, Airport and Onne port; with the aim of curtailing the abuse by bonded terminal operators, many of whom have been implicated in the seizure of fake and unwholesome drugs.
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| (L-R) CAC Apapa Command, B.O. Olomu, FOU Zone A Command, ACG O.C. Orbih, ACG Enforcement NCS, T. Bomodi, CAC TinCan Command, F.O. Onyeka, at the hand-over at the Enforcement Unit, Apapa Port |
According to the CGC, "The current licensing fees for Bonded Terminals that are operational now have been in place for about a decade and are no longer in tune with current realities.
"The increase in the fee of the license has to be such that it will be difficult or impossible for those who are not serious to own and operate a bonded terminal.
"So we are already in the process of reviewing the license fee. We will carry the stakeholders along and do things that will reflect current situations".
The CGC boss told journalists and stakeholders present that seizure of the pharmaceutical products is a direct outcome of the strategic Memorandum of Understanding, MOU signed between NCS and NAFDAC in November 2024, following subsequent inauguration of its Implementation Committee.
He highlighted that the Inter-agency collaboration and intelligence sharing have been central to enforcement philosophy, and under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration, this enhanced cooperation has delivered measurable results in protecting public health and combating illicit trade.
In his words, "The MOU framework enables Customs and NAFDAC to conduct coordinated operations and joint investigations, systematically tracing illicit pharmaceutical sources and deploying targeted enforcement strategies against criminal networks".
The seized consignment, which consist of 21 forty-foot containers and 4 twenty-foot containers of counterfeit and dangerous products including unregistered sexual enhancement drugs like REDSUN and HYEGRA sildenafil citrate products.
There are also codeine-containing cough syrups (including CSC brands).
Antibiotic injections such as oxytetracycline and artesunate, pain relief medications containing diclofenac sodium and paracetamol.
Others are skin lightening creams, hip and breast enlargement products and
numerous tablets bearing fake NAFDAC registration numbers as well as expired food products, veterinary medications and antimalarial drugs among others.
Mr Adeniyi also indicated that the operational synergy they have developed with NAFDAC reflects strategic collaboration at its finest, with the Director-General providing critical intelligence even at midnight about suspicious importations that proves decisive to their anti-smuggling operations.
“The Nigeria Customs Service, in partnership with NAFDAC and the NDLEA remains uncompromisingly committed to the battle against merchants of death who pursue illicit profits from businesses that destroy lives and communities.
“This MOU Facilitated coordination enables swift responses to emerging threats, and I commend the Director-General and her dedicated team whose technical expertise, combined with our enforcement capabilities, has created a formidable barrier against criminal networks seeking to compromise our borders".
“Under the coordination of the Office of the National Security Adviser, our joint operations have resulted in the seizure of over 200 containers followed by coordinated destruction exercises, with unregistered pharmaceutical products comprising 63.7% of seizure values, highlighting the scale of threats that could have inflicted devastating damage on human lives and our social ecosystem if permitted to infiltrate our markets,” he stated.
Adeniyi emphasized that NCS have significantly enhanced its intelligence network and technological capabilities to detect and intercept prohibited items, regardless of concealment methods; issued a stern warning to all stakeholders in the international trade environment, haulage operators, bonded terminal owners, or any other trade facilitators found complicit in these illegal activities will face the full force of the law.
Adeniyi reaffirms that NCS will maintain an uncompromising stance on regulatory compliance; he also commended the operatives at the Apapa Port command for their vigilance and professionalism in executing the interdictions.
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