Latest news with #Adeniyi
AFP
07-05-2025
- AFP
Old video used to claim Nigerian customs officials intercepted smuggled arms in April 2025
'The customs and other security agencies at Onne port seized 100 containers of imported sophisticated ammunitions that were headed to Abia state, which is about 80km from the seaport (sic),' reads an X post published on April 14, 2025. The post has been reposted more than 800 times. In the video, different types of firearms can be seen displayed on the ground. Voices can be heard in the background mentioning numbers and doing some sort of calculation, perhaps in an attempt to determine the number of firearms. 'Oh boy, no be size. Onne don shake, Onne is shaking (sic),' a voice says towards the end of the 51-second clip. Onne Port is located in Nigeria's Rivers state. Image Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on April 28, 2025 The video was published elsewhere on Facebook, Instagram and X in a similar context. The Nigeria Customs Service is a border security agency that facilitates international trade, enforces anti-smuggling laws, and imposes duties and tariffs. According to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, the circulation of small arms has contributed to the increased rate of kidnappings and secessionist agitations in Nigeria (archived here). While the video shows arms confiscated by Nigeria's customs officers, the post misleadingly frames the event as recent and exaggerates the size of the seizure. 2024 arms seizure AFP Factcheck conducted a reverse image search on keyframes from the video and the results established that it was taken last year. The clip was published on the Facebook account belonging to the Port Harcourt office of local broadcaster Classic FM on June 25, 2024 (archived here). 'Large cache of ammunitions allegedly seized in a bonded terminal in Onne Port, Rivers State,' the caption reads. The same firearms and ammunition appear in both videos. Image Screenshots comparing the misleading post (left) and the June 2024 video The clip was also published by other local media outlets at the time (archived here). Further searches led to a different video posted on the official Facebook account of the Nigeria Customs Service on July 6, 2024, revealing the contents of the confiscated container (archived here). In the video, Adewale Adeniyi, the customs comptroller general, said a container was flagged at Onne Port and examined on June 21, 2024. 'The suspicious container was subjected to a thorough physical examination. The result revealed the following alarming contents: 844 units of assorted rifles, 112,500 units of live ammunition,' Adeniyi said. He also noted that the arms were concealed using various items, including doors, furniture, leather bags and plumbing equipment. Other Nigerian news outlets also reported that the arms were found in one container, and not 100 as alleged in the recent online posts (archived here). In February 2025, customs officials handed over 1,599 assorted firearms and 2,298 live cartridges that were smuggled into Nigeria to the office of the National Security Adviser (archived here).
Business Insider
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Authorities reveal the reason why smuggling Nigerian fuel to other countries has become attractive
Nigerian authorities have highlighted a nagging problem in the country's oil sector, which is the smuggling of petroleum products, intended for domestic use, outside the country. Despite the removal of fuel subsidy, it is still profitable for smugglers to take fuel illegally from Nigeria. Nigeria's relatively cheaper pump price encourages the illicit export of Premium Motor Spirit to neighboring nations. Price differentials fuel smuggling operations, leading to the launch of the operating Whirlwind initiative. The Nigeria Customs Service, via the group's Comptroller General, Adewale Adeniyi, not only highlighted the problem but disclosed that the illegal activity is thriving. His assessment touched on the glaring difference between fuel prices in Nigeria and fuel prices outside the country. Speaking during the service's first quarter performance review held in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, on Tuesday, the Comptroller General stated that 'Despite the removal of the fuel subsidy, it is still profitable for smugglers to take fuel illegally from Nigeria. You know that the prices are dynamic.' He also disclosed that even though Nigeria no more offers fuel subsidies, the relatively cheaper pump price still encourages the illicit export of Premium Motor Spirit to nations like the Benin Republic, Cameroon, and Niger. While PMS costs between N880 and N950 per litre in Nigeria, Adeniyi pointed out that the identical product is sold for significantly more in neighboring nations. What the Nigeria Customs Service highlighted about fuel smuggling The same product "Is lower compared to around N1600 and N2000 per litre in Cameroon, Niger, and the Benin Republic,' he stated. Even if the local costs of gasoline have significantly decreased in certain of these nations, the Customs chief emphasized that smuggling operations are still fueled by this large price differential. as seen on the Punch Newspaper. 'While the price of the products is coming down to around N850 and N900 per liter in places like Cameroon, it is close to N2,000 per liter, in Niger, it is N1,600 per liter, and the same with the Benin Republic,' he said. 'This arbitrage provides the incentive. That is why we launched the operating Whirlwind,' he added. In May 2023, prior to the president's inauguration and his declaration of the removal of fuel subsidies, fuel in Nigeria sold for ₦238.11 per liter; however, in May 2024, it sold for approximately ₦770 per liter. Currently fuel price is going for an average of ₦900.
