The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) reports that petrol smuggling to neighbouring nations continues even after Nigeria completely deregulated the petroleum industry.

As part of its "Operation Whirlwind" to combat fuel smuggling, the NCS has recently seized large amounts of illicit petrol, valued at millions of naira.

The Nigeria Customs Service stated that it will not lift the ban on the supply of petrol to border communities amid the rise in the interception of petrol for smuggling out of the country through border communities to neighbouring Benin Republic, Togo, and Chad, among other countries.

According to LEADERSHIP, the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, stated that over 65% of smuggling in the South West occurs through the Ilaro-Ojodan and Owode-Ajilete axis, while 35% occurs through the Seme-Badagry corridor and Ogun via the Imeko-Afon.

Over the past three months, the service has intercepted 273,670 litres of gasoline nationwide.

The persistent smuggling has been ascribed by experts to significant pricing differences across regional boundaries. Because petrol in Nigeria is still less expensive than in nearby nations like Ghana and Benin, there is a thriving illicit market that threatens Nigeria's economic interests.

For example, as of February 2025, the price of gasoline in Ghana is about $1.02 per litre. Nigeria, on the other hand, charges about $0.763 per litre for gasoline. The cost of octane-95 gasoline in Togo is roughly 680 CFA Francs per litre, or $1.092.

Although exact pricing for other nearby nations, such as Benin and Cameroon, are not included in the data that is currently available, prices in these areas are typically higher than in Nigeria, which exacerbates the problem of smuggling.

According to the Customs CG, who spoke to LEADERSHIP, many petroleum marketers in border communities continue to direct petroleum goods through the incorrect routes despite the rising number of seizures nationwide.

The CGC also emphasized that there are more retail establishments at the border stations than there are people and economic activity in the different areas.

“We have a number of trucks that are under our custody as we speak that are still under investigation. I mean if a truck is assigned to go to destination A and then we suddenly find it in destination C or along the road to destination C, we must ask some questions.

“Sometimes, they tell us the road around B is bad. That was the reason they took a detour and things like that. Some of the explanations are possible, and in some cases, the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) will advise us to release those trucks, but in some cases, we have discovered that they were all out to smuggle, and that’s why we got seizures like this.”

The Customs boss stated that until there is a drastic reduction in smuggling, the ban will subsist.

“So, it is a fluid situation, and until smuggling activities and smuggling of PMS reduces, I’m afraid, we might have to insist that certain retail outlets remain closed.

This came as Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced a reduction in the ex-depot (gantry) price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly referred to as petrol, from N890 to N825 per litre.

In addition, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has reduced its pump price of petrol to N860 per litre.

Legit.ng reported that Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, claimed that fuel traffickers exploited the subsidy regime's flaws to earn almost N17 million for each truck in neighbouring nations.

The head of the NNPCL told reporters in Abuja that the fuel subsidy was causing a lot of cross-border smuggling and that a 6,000-liter truck could net smugglers for at least N17 million each trip, Channels TV reported.

Recently, fuel prices skyrocketed at gas stations all around Nigeria, further hurting the country's citizens who are already grappling with the worst economic crisis in a generation.

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Source: Legit.ng