Experts in the maritime and automobile sectors have highlighted that exorbitant vehicle clearing fees, frequent port congestion, and high freight costs are pushing Nigerians to smuggle cars through neighboring nations. This trend is underscored by recent Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) data, which reveals the seizure of 870 vehicles between early 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.
These 160 separate enforcement actions involved vehicles with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N3.88 billion. Ajibola Adedoyin, National President of the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON), noted that importers frequently choose to clear cars in countries like the Benin Republic because import duties there are drastically lower than in Nigeria. While he acknowledged that smuggling carries the extreme risk of total financial loss, the potential savings—often reaching millions of naira—outweigh the dangers for many dealers.
Adedoyin suggested that the government could curb this illegal activity by downwardly reviewing import duties, noting that importers would likely prefer legal channels if the cost gap were smaller. Supporting this view, Eugene Nweke, Head of Research at the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC), emphasized that shipping lines often charge higher freight rates to Nigerian ports compared to neighboring hubs like Cotonou or Ghana. Nweke argued that aligning domestic tariffs and shipping costs with regional standards is essential to reducing smuggling and ensuring competitive business practices.
