Harboursandport.com: Lagos, Nigeria — March 27, 2026: The Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS has come under scrutiny following allegations of missing consignments from its warehouse, extortion, and questionable highway operations—despite repeated warnings from the Comptroller-General of Customs, CGC.
Reports indicate that FOU officers continue to mount checkpoints along major Lagos routes, including Coconut Bridge to Mile 2, Area B Apapa to Ijora-Olopa, and between Badagry and Mile 2.
These actions have raised concerns about overbearing actions and harassment of cargo operators.
At the heart of the controversy is the disappearance of 752 cartons of Calcium Lactate tablets, equivalent to a 20-foot container (No. ONEU2419369), seized on July 6, 2025, for false declaration.
Customs claimed the consignment was handed over to NAFDAC on October 7, 2025, in the presence of the media. However, NAFDAC insists the container has been missing.
A report by MMPlus, an industry news medium, noted that "Aphantee Pharmaceutical, alleged paid N11 million to a senior Customs officer in Abuja for the release of the container, but the goods remain unaccounted for."
The report further noted that the police allegedly arrested a retired Customs officer and seven others with 92 cartons of the missing products, implicating officials at the FOU warehouse.
The former Controller in charge of the Unit at the time argued that FOU serves as “Customs’ police,” providing checks against errors at the ports. Industry stakeholders have questioned why a duty differential was not simply issued instead of escalating the matter.
MMPlus further reported then that “NAFDAC’s public affairs department confirmed ongoing efforts to locate the missing container,” while FOU Zone A spokesperson Hussaini Abdullahi Onawo denied any record of missing seized items when responding to inquiries by Harboursandport.com.
According to him: "From available records at my disposal, there was no case of seized items that went missing in the government warehouse."
He further explained that mobile patrols operate strictly on intelligence, stressing that checkpoints are manned by officials of the Unit.
"FOU A is an intervention unit, and the current management of the NCS has rolled out several trade facilitation tools which I believe the FOU is in total compliance with. Despite this, the work has to be done. What you are seeing on the road are mobile patrol teams operating purely on intelligence," he said.
The CGC, Adewale Adeniyi, has repeatedly warned officers against practices that could tarnish the Service’s reputation. However, the unfolding saga of missing consignments and extortion claims suggests that the integrity of Customs operations in Zone A remains under serious question.
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