By Stella Okocha
Harboursandportcom:Lagos-Nigeria: November 6,2025: The Customs Area Controller of Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba on Tuesday 4th, November, hosted members of the House of Representatives Committee on Safety Standards and Regulations, to make clear its role on enforcement of import standards, border control and national safety.
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| Compt Oshoba addressing the lawmakers |
The lawmakers who had earlier visited the Customs headquarters in Abuja before continuing their inspections in Lagos; was led by its Chairman, Hon. David Idris Zacharias, and their visit to the Command was part of its ongoing nationwide oversight exercise to assess safety compliance across key government agencies.
As the lawmakers took a tour of facilities at the Apapa port including the customs offices at APM Terminals examination area, scanning site, customs offices at ENL Terminals among others; Hon. Zacharias stated that their visit was not aimed at fault-finding but at strengthening collaboration between the legislature and the Service toward ensuring the protection of lives and property through effective standards enforcement.
He pointed that they were on a fact finding mission to ascertain how substandard goods find their way into Nigerian markets. Specifically he lamented the influx of fake cables, which according to him has led to fire incidences and collapse of buildings around the country.
“We are going to conduct an inspection and go round the whole terminal, the safety of Nigerians is our responsibility, nobody would do it for you and I. A lot of incidents have happened in Nigeria, especially as regards collapse of buildings and fire incidents that have killed many Nigerians. We have fake cables ravaging the Nigerian markets".
Another member of the committee also said “From our findings and meetings we have held, we were told that Customs is not to be held responsible, but they mentioned the Standards Organisation of Nigeria”
Hon David also disclosed that the committee had received petitions alleging lapses in safety enforcement among several agencies, including Customs, noting that the oversight visit was meant to verify such claims and promote cooperation.
"We have a mandate to carry out this exercise, beginning from the head office of the Nigeria Customs Service in Abuja. We are here to see things for ourselves and verify allegations about safety lapses while appreciating the efforts of Customs in safeguarding Nigerians from substandard goods.
“The safety of Nigerians is our collective responsibility. We have seen that the Nigeria Customs Service also has a mandate tied to safety, which means we must work together as a team,” he added.
Responding to their claims and issues of concern, Compt Oshoba assured the lawmakers that the Apapa Customs Command, under the leadership of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, committed to national safety, especially in terms of anti-smuggling, and that non-compliant trade.
“The statutory responsibility of the Nigeria Customs Service is trade facilitation and ease of doing business, and we are very particular about compliance in this regard, any importation coming through the port must be compliant.
“Most of the substandard items at the Nigerian market is due to our porous borders, we have expansive borders that are porous. The CGC has stated this over and over again, any security agency in the country can confirm to you that this is why we are having issues of insecurity due to our porous borders, but for Apapa Area Command, no item injurious to National Security can come through here” .
“We have government agencies within every customs environment, we have SON, NDLEA, and NAFDAC and no unwholesome cargoes have escaped this port without being detected. Apapa is one of the highest command where we have seizures of such items, so non-compliant cargoes do not pass through this command at all", Compt Oshoba stated.
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