*The Nigeria Customs Service says it facilitates 1.332MT export valued at $341million, rakes in N518billion revenue, and confiscated unwholesome pharmaceutical products without manufacture and expiry dates, and drugs lacking addresses of places of origin in the past year

Emmanuel Akosile | ConsumerConnect

In an effort at preventing the consumption of unwholesome drugs that would cause harm to Nigerians’ well-being, the Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has disclosed it impounded 133 containers of unregistered pharmaceutical product, including tramadol in 2020.

Comptroller Mohammed Abba-Kura, Customs Area Controller of the Command, at a media briefing Tuesday, January 12 said most of the pharmaceutical products did not have manufacture and expiry date, just as the seized drugs also lacked addresses of where they were produced.

Abba-Kura said the consumption of the drugs would cause harm to Nigerians health if they had found their ways into the open markets in the country.

According to him, the Command made a total 318 seizures with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N21.197 billion.

These figures, he stated, almost tripled the total seizures for the year 2019, which stood at 112 with total Duty Paid Value (DPV) N12.5 billion.

He said: “Some of the seized items included; 133 containers of unregistered pharmaceutical products including tramadol, 58 containers of parboiled rice, 30 containers of vegetable oil, 31 containers of used clothes and shoes and 13 containers of used tyres and other sundry items.”

He said the export unit of the command also witnessed a boost in its activities, as its processed exports rose from 262,095 metric tonnes in 2019 to 1,311,365 metric tonnes in 2020.

According to him, the Free on Board (FOB) value for the exported items equally increased from $132.760 million to $340.885 million within the period under review.

Abba-Kura noted that the Naira equivalent of the exported items was estimated at N104.310 billion at 306 per US dollar, adding that the exported items include bars, agricultural and mineral products among others.

The command between the months of January to December, 2020 collected N518.046 billion revenue and remitted same to the federation and non-federation accounts of the Federal Government respectively, he said.