Importers and fleet brokers staged protests in Lagos on August 8, 2025, decrying the Nigeria Customs Service’s (NCS) reintroduction of a 4% Free on Board (FOB) levy on imports, which has driven up cargo clearing costs by up to 40%. The levy, implemented on August 4, 2025, under the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, replaces the 7% customs collection fee and 1% Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) fee but has sparked outrage for increasing financial burdens amid Nigeria’s economic challenges. The protests followed a meeting of the Association of Concerned Freight Forwarders (ACFF) at RockView Hotel, where convener Ndubisi Uzoegbo condemned the NCS for a 200% import duty hike, warning of inflation and trade disruptions.
The FOB levy, calculated on the value of imported goods including transportation costs to the port of loading, has hit vehicle importers hardest, with clearing costs for a $4,000 car now reaching N3 million, according to Clinton Okoro of Globjoy Investment Limited. Stakeholders like Taiwo Fatomilola of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN) argue the levy offers no financial relief, as the 7% surcharge remains in place despite earlier NCS promises. The NCS, led by Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi, defends the levy as essential for funding the B’Odogwu platform to modernize customs operations, but importers counter that it exacerbates port inefficiencies and currency volatility.
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