Corrupt Nigerian Customs Officers Smuggle Over 3,000 Cars Loaded with Rice into Lagos via Ogun State

A new revelation has surfaced showing the continued smuggling operations involving the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), with over 3,000 cars loaded with rice illegally transported into Lagos State. The smuggling operation, which took place on Sunday night, saw approximately 195,000 bags of rice—totaling about 9,750,000 kg—brought in through Ogun State, according to investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo.

Soyombo, who has been actively exposing the illicit activities of the NCS, detailed the method of smuggling. The rice was reportedly transported from Owode-Apa and Seme into Badagry, where it was then funneled through Gbaji Bridge into Lagos for distribution. In a post shared on his verified social media account, Soyombo criticized the failure of recent anti-smuggling efforts.

He wrote, “Over the night, your men in Ogun State let in more than 3000 cars containing smuggled rice from Owode-Apa and Seme into Badagry via Gbaji Bridge for onward transfer to Lagos.”

Good morning, @customsNG.

Over the night, your men in Ogun State let in more than 3,000 cars containing smuggled rice from Owode-Apa and Seme into Badagry via Gbaji Bridge for onward transfer to Lagos.

More than 3,000 cars! That’s at least 9,750,000 kg of rice (3,000 multiplied… pic.twitter.com/Kq8u0ceLsi

— 'Fisayo Soyombo (@fisayosoyombo) November 25, 2024

Soyombo further emphasized the scale of the operation, calculating that the total weight of the rice smuggled was approximately 9,750,000 kg, based on an average of 65 bags per car, each weighing 50 kg. He questioned the effectiveness of the government’s recent “high-level meeting to combat smuggling,” highlighting the contradiction between such talks and the continuing smuggling activities.

The latest revelation builds upon Soyombo’s earlier reports. Just a week prior, he had exposed another smuggling operation that involved over 2,000 cars transporting around 6,500,000 kg of rice into Nigeria, again via Badagry. Soyombo released videos showing the flow of these vehicles through the region, recorded between 2:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Sunday, November 17.

In his earlier investigation, Soyombo had also accused NCS officers of collaborating with Adeyemi Habeeb Abdulganiy, a well-known smuggler, to bring in the contraband. Despite these detailed claims, Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada, the NCS National Public Relations Officer, dismissed Soyombo’s allegations as “fictitious,” offering no counter-evidence to disprove them.

Soyombo, however, has continued to document his findings with additional videos, which he believes serve as undeniable proof of the ongoing smuggling activities facilitated by corrupt customs officers.