The Customs Area Controller of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Command, ACG Babatunde Olomu, PhD., has significantly transformed the nation’s busiest port into a powerhouse of revenue generation and enforcement, contributing a staggering N3.7 trillion to government coffers in just 16 months while tightening security through high-profile seizures of contraband.
His leadership has not only boosted national revenue but also reinforced Customs’ role as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s economic stability and national security in a manner that endears him to freight forwarders and the entire port community.
On Tuesday, 2 September 2025, President Bola Tinubu in Abuja declared that Nigeria had met its revenue target 2025 ahead of schedule and would no longer rely on borrowing to fund its budget.
While addressing stakeholders who visited him at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the President said his administration’s non-oil revenue drive had yielded enough to meet this year’s projections by August, reducing Nigeria’s dependence on external loans.
Also on the same day, the Customs Service announced that it met and surpassed the revenue target of the service in the first half of 2025.
According to the Service, after its 63rd Board meeting chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the Service surpassed the half-year revenue target by 11.85 percent.
Customs Spokesman, Abdullahi Maiwada, PhD., said in a statement that the total revenue was N3.68 trillion between January and June 2025. This figure represents 55.93 percent of its annual revenue target.
The Customs Spokesman disclosed that the figure generated in the first 6 months of the year surpassed the projected revenue for the period by N390,197,847,119.32.
However, the federal government cannot achieve this laudable feat of meeting revenue targets in August without the contribution of the Customs Service, who contribute massively to the country’s revenue profile through the collection of import duties from importers, Manufacturers and clearing agents across the country.
The e-service achieved this through cutting-edge technology that helped to block revenue leakages, ensure fast clearance of cargo and reduce human interface.
Also, the Service wouldn’t have contributed to achieving the revenue target without the contributions of the Apapa Command of the Service.
For instance, the Apapa Command under the Leadership of ACG Babatunde Olomu, PhD, has contributed immensely to the revenue generated by the Customs Service and the federal government.
The Command which hitherto contributed 35% of the total revenue of the service has in the last 16 months, since the appointment of ACG Olomu, increased its revenue contribution to the service
ACG Olomu, who took over the mantle of leadership of the command on 5th May, 2024, generated a whopping N3.7trillion between May 2024 and July 2025.
Giving a breakdown, the command generated N175.139billion in May 2024; N178.265billion in June; N201.853billion in July; N189.544 billion in August; N193.930 billion in September; N264.455 billion in October; N229.320 billion in November and N252.530billion in December 2024.
In January 2025. ACG Olomu generated N269. 323 billion; N216.988billion in February; N215.910billion in March; N230.713 billion in April; N230.712billion in May; N209.181 billion in June; N214.509 billion in July, and N215,000 generated in August, giving a total of N3.709trillion in the last 16 months he held sway as the Customs Area Controller of the Apapa port.
Anti-smuggling operations
Also, in the 15 months Olomu held sway, the command intercepted 75 seizures of various items such as assorted rifles, ammunition, expired pharmaceuticals, fake drugs and even banned substances such as Codeine, Tramadol, used clothing, expired margarine, codeine syrup, wild animal skins, and stolen vehicles.
Other seizures included containers of codeine syrup, containers of stolen vehicles, restricted security gadgets including drones and telecommunication devices.
Additionally, 60 units of warrior drones without valid end-user certificates were recovered and another 53 helicopter drones, evacuated from a container marked CFAX3, carried an estimated duty-paid value of N2.1 million.
Ten professional FM transceiver walkie-talkies were also confiscated, along with other contraband.
The seizures, worth several billions of naira, were 62 pieces of 40ft containers and 13 pieces of 20ft containers.
Olomu gets CGC’s commendation over seizures
The Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, however, commended ACG Olomu over his exploits in disrupting the illegal importation of restricted, expired, fake pharmaceuticals as well as the importation of security and communication equipment, such as drones and walkie-talkies, among others.
The CGC commended officers and men of the Apapa Command for their vigilance and professionalism, urging stakeholders within the international trade ecosystem to comply strictly with import regulations.
He said importers label pharmaceuticals as general merchandise or cosmetics in an attempt to evade detection.
Also, diversification of contraband shipments, with importers mixing pharmaceuticals, expired food, and restricted technology items in a single container suggested the involvement of sophisticated criminal networks rather than isolated smugglers.
Also, the trend of increasing importation of non-pharmaceutical security threats, including drones and communication gadgets, which raised significant concerns for national security.
The CG, who emphasised that the seizures were not isolated efforts, applauded ACG Olomu over his enforcement drive to thwart the importation of illicit cargo into the country.
“I want to specially commend Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, and the officers working with him for this anti-smuggling exploit.
“The Apapa Command handles the highest volume of trade for NCS, collects the highest revenue, and is therefore saddled with a higher degree of expectation from the management of the Service and the government. I urge them to maintain this level of performance.
“Let me advise our port users to embrace only legitimate trade. NCS, under my leadership, is fully committed to its responsibilities in detecting all forms of concealment.”
Psychotropic drugs threaten national security
The Customs CGC had said that if the controlled pharmaceutical products, which had been seized due to false declarations had been allowed to exit the port, it would have posed a threat to the country’s security.
The Customs fears that if the controlled drugs fall into the waiting hands of the Islamic Fundamentalist Group, Boko Haram fighters or the Islamic States of West African Province, ISWAP, in the north eastern states of Borno, Yobe, it would worsen the insecurity situation in the region.
He feared that it have also fallen into the hands of the Bandit Group fighters in Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina, home state of former President Muhammadu Buhari, including those in the north central state of Niger, Kidnappers and the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, or the Eastern Security Network, fighters, that would influence their behavior and other individuals involved such criminal activities.
The Command, was said to have also impounded and seized thousands of cutlasses concealed with other goods in one of the Containers seized. The cutlasses imported from the Asian country of China.
Encomiums for Intercepting Several Contrabands
On the dangers such goods would pose to the nation at large, the Comptroller General of Customs said he was calling on all patriotic citizens to assist the Nigeria Customs Service as according to him, the issue was not that of Customs alone but the generality of the people as any information shared with the Customs would help prevent what he described as a potential catastrophe.
“I want to emphasise that this is not just a Customs issue – it is a national security concern that affects every Nigerian. We are therefore calling on all patriotic citizens to assist us in this crucial endeavour. We need your help in providing intelligence regarding those behind these nefarious acts and their intentions. Your information, no matter how small, could be the key to preventing a potential catastrophe. Therefore, effective immediately, we are implementing emergency protocols at Onne Port. For the next three months, we will be conducting thorough examinations of all suspected containers. If the owners do not come forward for examination, we will open these containers to verify their contents. This is a temporary but necessary measure to clean up the port and restore its integrity” he maintained.”
Inter-agency Collaboration At Play
The Customs CGC described the event as historic. He highlighted the critical role of institutional collaboration in achieving the seizure, particularly the contributions of NDLEA, NAFDAC, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
“This success reflects the strength of our collaboration, which aligns with the Service’s policy of unity through cooperation, consolidation, and innovation,” Adeniyi stated.
We will strengthen our intelligence networks, enhance our inter-agency collaborations, and ensure that those who seek to harm our nation face the full weight of the law.”
“I want to assure all Nigerians that the Nigeria Customs Service will continue to be a formidable force in the fight against smuggling and the illegal importation of harmful goods. We will remain steadfast in our duties to ensure that our nation remains a safe place for all to thrive.”
Conclusion:
The combined feat of surpassing revenue targets ahead of schedule and intercepting billions of naira worth of contraband underscores the Nigeria Customs Service’s pivotal role in stabilising the nation’s economy and safeguarding its security. With the Apapa Command under ACG Babatunde Olomu emerging as a stronghold of both revenue generation and enforcement, Customs has proven that technology, vigilance, and inter-agency collaboration are the backbone of Nigeria’s non-oil revenue drive. As President Tinubu rightly noted, meeting the 2025 revenue target before year-end reflects a turning point in Nigeria’s fiscal independence—one in which Customs remains a cornerstone.
