Adewale Adeniyi, comptroller-general (CG) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), says over 120 trucks of food have been seized across the country.
Adeniyi spoke on Tuesday when he appeared during the food security debate session of the house of representatives.
“We are currently in an operation all over Nigeria which has resulted in the seizure of over 120 trucks across different other stations and other areas in the country,” Adeniyi said.
“Due to the current state of emergency, we have been instructed to enforce restrictions on the export of essential food items. Over the past month, we have diligently implemented these measures to promote local self-sufficiency,” he said.
He did not specify whether the food seized were being smuggled out of the country.
The customs CG said President Bola Tinubu has directed that food seized at the point of import should be sold directly to vulnerable Nigerians.
Adeniyi added that the president also instructed that food items seized at the point of export should be returned to the market. “We are going to be starting that in the next few days,” he said.
The government has been cracking down on illegal food exports to address food inflation in the country.
In February, a customs joint border patrol team in Sokoto intercepted truckloads of food en route Niger Republic.