The Nigeria Customs Service has dismissed allegations of increased smuggling, revenue leakage, recruitment impropriety and manipulation of succession within the service, describing them as a misrepresentation of its operations and administrative processes.
The service’s National Public Relations Officer, Deputy Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, stated this in a response released on Thursday to an investigative report published by a media outlet (not PUNCH) on August 7, 2026.
The report had alleged intensified smuggling along the Seme, Idiroko, Ilaro, Ipokia and Igbeti-Kishi corridors, as well as manipulation of the 846 valuation code at the Apapa, Tin Can Island and PTML Area Commands.
Maiwada said the claim of a surge in smuggling was inconsistent with the service’s enforcement activities, pointing to regular seizures recorded along the affected corridors.
“Our responsibility is to reduce smuggling to the barest minimum, not to claim that it can be completely eradicated,” he said.
