The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Command, has set a new record with N304 billion revenue in October 2025.
Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba said reforms and technology boosted efficiency and trade facilitation.
The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area Command, has set a new record by collecting N304 billion in October 2025, the highest monthly revenue ever achieved by any command in the history of the service.
According to the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Tunde Ayagbalo, the figure marks a major increase from the N264 billion collected in the same month of 2024. With this achievement, Apapa Command’s total revenue for the first ten months of 2025 has reached N2.4 trillion, surpassing its total collection for the entire 2024 with two months left in the year.
Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba, the Area Controller, said the record reflects the hard work and efficiency of officers as well as their dedication to the service’s goals of boosting revenue and facilitating trade.
“This milestone shows our readiness to process more trade volumes and deliver greater value to the Federal Government,” Oshoba said.
He attributed the success to reforms in trade procedures, higher compliance among port users, and the ongoing use of technology-driven customs systems. Oshoba also revealed plans to introduce a “drive-through scanning” system that will process up to 150 containers per hour directly from the quayside — a move he described as a major breakthrough for port operations in West Africa.
The controller said the new system will speed up clearance time, reduce congestion, and improve transparency, which would further strengthen investor confidence in Nigeria’s maritime trade. He added that senior officers recently received in-house training to improve leadership and technical skills, following directives from the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi.
Oshoba said the command is also tightening measures against revenue leakages and import duty evasion. “We have applied demand notices to recover shortfalls and will not tolerate any form of compromise,” he noted, adding that officers are on alert to detect importers who misuse Harmonized System Codes to evade payment.
To enhance efficiency, Oshoba said he has carried out unannounced inspections of port access roads and met with truckers, freight forwarders, and licensed agents. “I’ve urged them to work with the Nigerian Ports Authority to ensure faster evacuation of cleared goods,” he stated. “When cargoes pile up, it delays new consignments and affects both trade flow and revenue.”
He also met with the Port Manager to strengthen cooperation between Customs and the NPA to make Apapa Port more efficient and business-friendly.
