The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has announced plans to launch intelligence-driven special operations to curb the smuggling of vegetable oil into the country as part of efforts to protect local investments, preserve jobs and support the agricultural value chain.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this during a meeting with stakeholders in the vegetable oil industry at the service headquarters in Abuja.
Adeniyi said the service remains committed to combating smuggling through strategic enforcement, intelligence gathering and collaboration with industry stakeholders. He emphasized the need for sustained cooperation between government agencies and the private sector to safeguard legitimate businesses and strengthen the economy.
According to him, “Fighting smuggling is a continuous process that requires intelligence, policy support and collaboration.”
The Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Enforcement, Inspection and Investigation, Timi Bomodi, said the service had made significant progress in tackling the illegal importation of vegetable oil products.
“We recorded about 65 seizures of vegetable oil products in 2025 and another 23 seizures in 2026, with a combined duty-paid value of approximately N1.314 billion,” Bomodi said.
He added that many of the seizures were made along major smuggling corridors, including Seme and Idiroko, with surveillance set to be intensified in other vulnerable locations.
Speaking on behalf of industry stakeholders, the founder of the Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria, Dr. Fatai Afolabi, commended Customs for engaging the industry and urged stronger action against smuggling.
He warned that “the smuggling of vegetable oil is undermining local production, discouraging investment and threatening thousands of jobs across the value chain.”