No fewer than 2,000 bags of smuggled rice were seized by the Ogun 1 Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in the month of July.
The command, under the leadership of Customs Area Controller Bamidele Makinde also generated N13,370,229 as revenue from baggage assessment and proceeds from auction sales of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
A statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Hammed Oloyede, quoted Makinde as saying that the Ogun 1 Command seized “2,113 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg each, 21 units of vehicles (means of conveyance and imported used cars), 17,950 litres of PMS, and 1,416 pieces of used tyres, among others.”
Makinde said the seizures were made from different areas across Ogun through intelligence gathering, adding that the estimated payable duty on the items is N106,757,592.
In another development, a 23-year-old man, Chijioke Anene, was arraigned on Tuesday at a Badagry Chief Magistrate Court in Lagos over alleged phone theft and unauthorised withdrawals.
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The defendant, whose address is unknown and who is facing a count of stealing, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The prosecutor, ASP Ikem Uko, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on June 12 at about 1 am, at Idowu Car Wash, opposite First Bank of Nigeria, along Joseph Dosu Way, Badagry, Lagos.
Uko said the defendant allegedly stole one Android Techno Spark 7 phone valued at N60,000, the property of Oladele Emmanuel, the complainant.
He said, “The defendant sold the phone and converted the proceeds to his own use. He also withdrew cash of N30,000 from the complainant’s Zenith Bank account number without his consent.”
According to him, the offence contravened Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2015.
The chief magistrate, Mr Patrick Adekomaiya, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.
Adekomaiya adjourned the case until Aug. 24 for mention.