The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has recorded an unprecedented ₦304 billion in revenue for October 2025 the highest monthly collection ever achieved by any customs command in the history of the Service.
The record-breaking figure surpasses the ₦264 billion collected in October 2024, bringing the Command’s total revenue for the first ten months of 2025 to ₦2,402,141,493,747.06. With this achievement, Apapa Command has already exceeded its entire 2024 revenue collection, two months before the end of the current year.
Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Command, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba, attributed the milestone to the diligence of officers and the cooperation of stakeholders, describing it as the beginning of greater revenue generation exploits.
According to Oshoba, the feat is an indication of the Command’s growing capacity to process higher trade volumes, a trend he believes will translate to even greater remittances to the Federal Government.
“This revenue collection milestone is not our final destination. It only shows what is possible when discipline, technology, and teamwork are applied,” Oshoba stated. “We are deploying all trade facilitation tools as directed by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, including the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) platform that harmonizes customs procedures and promotes efficiency.”
The CAC disclosed that officers and men of the Command are being prepared for a forthcoming regime of Drive-Through Scanning, expected to revolutionize cargo clearance by processing an average of 150 containers per hour directly from the quayside — a first of its kind in West Africa.
He added that recently promoted Deputy and Assistant Comptrollers have undergone in-house capacity-building training to strengthen operational efficiency and align with the Service’s modernization drive.
Oshoba emphasized that while trade facilitation remains a top priority, the Command is also intensifying vigilance against revenue leakages and infractions.
“We have a zero-compromise stance in the application of demand notices for recovering shortfalls in revenue. Our officers are vigilant in checking attempts to misapply the Harmonised System (HS) Code for duty evasion,” he said.
Beyond revenue drive, the Apapa Customs boss noted that he has embarked on personal monitoring visits around port access roads, urging truckers, freight forwarders, and licensed customs agents to cooperate with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in easing cargo evacuation.
He explained that the Command’s collaboration with the Apapa Port Manager is crucial to ensure seamless cargo movement and prevent congestion that could hamper both revenue collection and trade facilitation.
“If cleared consignments fail to exit, new ones meant for examination or scanning would be slowed down, which directly impacts trade and revenue. We need the cooperation of all port users to sustain and improve on our achievements,” Oshoba added.
The Comptroller reaffirmed his commitment to building on the Command’s successes, pledging that Apapa Customs would continue to strengthen its systems and human capacity in line with the service-wide reform agenda under CGC Adeniyi.
The Public Relations Officer of the Command, Superintendent of Customs JT Ayagbalo, in a statement, described the revenue performance as a collective achievement of officers, stakeholders, and the leadership vision of Comptroller Oshoba, which has brought renewed vigor and accountability to Apapa operations.
