The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) operatives of Operation Whirlwind, Zone D have intercepted over 195,000 litres of smuggled Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) across Adamawa State.
The NCS said it auctioned part of the product to motorists at N600 per litre to prevent deterioration and hoarding.
Speaking at a press conference in Customs House, Yola on Thursday, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, ACG Kolapo Oladeji, said the operation delivered 55 separate seizures within eight weeks, valued at N181.6million in Duty Paid Value.
According to him, the crackdown targeted notorious smuggling corridors including Mubi–Sahuda, Farang–Belel, Gurin–Fufore, Maiha, Wuro Bokki, Ribado waterways, Muninga and Bakin Kogi, where smugglers continue to channel fuel toward Nigeria’s borders despite multiple clampdowns.
The seized items included: 184,006 litres of PMS in 2,642 jerrycans, 11,256 litres stored in a filling station, 485 drums of 220-litre capacity, and two large wooden boats used for ferrying the illicit product toward border communities.
Oladeji said the seizures align with President Bola Tinubu’s directive on national energy and food security, stressing that fuel smuggling is “economic sabotage that deepens hardship by draining Nigeria’s scarce resources.”
Despite repeated warnings, the ACG lamented a surge in violent resistance from smugglers. On October 19, officers on duty along the Belel–Farang axis reportedly came under an aggressive midnight ambush.
No casualties were recorded, which Customs attributed to “the professionalism and restraint displayed by our operatives.”
Oladeji insisted the Service would not back down: “We will not relent. We will choke off the supply chains of these economic wreckers.”
The Customs boss commended residents of border communities who continue to provide actionable intelligence that has helped crack several smuggling networks.
He urged them to “keep the candle burning” and continue reporting suspicious movements for the sake of national security.
He also thanked journalists for exposing the economic dangers of smuggling, stressing that “security is everyone’s business” and encouraging Nigerians to report wrongdoing whenever they encounter it.
Oladeji expressed gratitude to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) led by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the NMDPRA, and several operational units of the Nigeria Customs Service — including the Adamawa/Taraba Command, CIU, SIS, CPU, and FOU ‘D’ — whose collaboration made the seizures possible.
He ended the briefing by reaffirming the commitment of Operation Whirlwind personnel to sustain the offensive and ensure “a Nigeria where smuggling will be treated as a forbidden cake.”
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