The Nigeria Customs Service has announced plans to auction 14,375 litres of Premium Motor Spirit seized from smugglers attempting to export the fuel to Cameroon through Cross River State.
The PMS was seized by the Nigeria Customs Service Special Anti-Smuggling Taskforce named Operation Whirlwind in the Calabar axis of the zone. National Coordinator of the taskforce in Zone C, DCC Abubakar Aliyu, disclosed this to newsmen on Tuesday in Calabar, saying that the Duty Paid Value for the product stands at N14,375,000.
Aliyu stated, “Within the past several weeks, acting on credible and actionable intelligence, our operatives successfully dismantled a coordinated network involved in the illegal exportation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to neighbouring Cameroon. During the operation, we intercepted 235 jerry-cans of 25 litres each and 40 drums (200 litres each) of Premium Motor Spirit, amounting to a total volume of 14,375 litres”.
The latest seizure adds to Nigeria Customs Service’s ongoing campaign against fuel smuggling, which has been a persistent drain on the country’s petroleum resources despite the removal of fuel subsidies that previously made smuggling highly lucrative.
Smugglers have continued to exploit price differentials between Nigeria and neighboring countries, particularly Cameroon, where petrol sells at significantly higher prices. The illicit trade deprives Nigeria of legitimate revenue and undermines efforts to stabilize the domestic fuel market.
Operation Whirlwind, a multi-zonal anti-smuggling taskforce, has recorded numerous seizures along Nigeria’s borders with Cameroon, particularly in Cross River, Adamawa, and Taraba states, where smugglers operate along notorious corridors often using disguised vehicles and conducting operations at night to evade detection.
The auction of seized petrol has become standard practice for the Customs Service, allowing the agency to recoup some value from confiscated products while ensuring the fuel reaches legitimate consumers at discounted rates. Previous auctions have sold seized petrol at prices significantly below prevailing pump prices, providing relief to local communities.
Details about the auction date, venue, and pricing have not yet been announced, though past auctions in other states have sold smuggled petrol at steep discounts compared to retail outlets operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and independent marketers.
The seizure underscores the continued challenge of securing Nigeria’s borders against fuel smuggling despite policy changes aimed at eliminating the incentives for such illicit trade.
