The Nigeria Customs Service has suspended the transfer of containers to the Tinapa Free Trade Zone after seizing 56 containers of contraband worth about ₦5.53 billion. The move is part of a wider crackdown on alleged abuse of free trade zone concessions.
The seized containers were intercepted through the Onne Port and contained vegetable oil, used clothing and foreign tomato paste. Customs said some of the goods were allegedly declared as machinery and spare parts before being brought into the country.
The latest action raises a bigger question for businesses operating in Nigeria’s free trade zones: how will tighter Customs checks affect legitimate imports and manufacturing activities?
Why Customs Is Suspending Tinapa Transfers
The Nigeria Customs Service said some importers have allegedly used free trade zone concessions to bring prohibited or restricted goods into Nigeria and then move them into the local market.
Free trade zones are designed to give businesses incentives that can support manufacturing, processing, trading and other economic activities. Tinapa itself describes its zone as a platform for light manufacturing, trading, agricultural processing and packaging.
Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi said the service will carry out a comprehensive audit of containers previously transferred to Tinapa. Until those consignments are properly accounted for, new transfers will not be approved.
What Was Inside the 56 Containers?
The scale of the seizure is significant. Customs said 45 containers contained 1,050 jerrycans of 25-litre vegetable oil, with a duty-paid value of about ₦4.25 billion.
Another nine containers contained used clothing valued at about ₦1.05 billion, while two containers carrying tomato paste were valued at approximately ₦232 million. Together, the consignments had a duty-paid value of about ₦5.53 billion.
Customs said the seizures were made under Sections 55 and 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
What Happens to Businesses in Tinapa?
The suspension could create short-term uncertainty for businesses that depend on container transfers into the free trade zone.
However, the Customs directive is currently focused on compliance and reconciliation. Adeniyi said importers, Customs agents, shipping companies and other parties connected to the alleged illegal consignments could face prosecution.
The bigger test will be whether the audit leads to stronger controls without slowing down legitimate trade. For Tinapa and other free trade zones, the outcome could shape how businesses use import concessions going forward.
The Customs Service has made it clear that the next stage will be an audit of existing transfers before normal container movement resumes.
