Recently, a WhatsApp user shared a picture with the caption “Go to any Custom office in your state with just your NIN and 10k for 5kg bag of Rice. Announcer- Customs Comptroller General”

The message has since gone viral across social media platforms and was seen as “forwarded many times” on whatsapp

Claim: Customs Comptroller- General announce distribution of 10k and 25kg bags of Rice across all states in Nigeria

Verification

On February 23, 2024, Vanguard News reported that “The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, will today commence the sale of seized bags of rice to the public at the rate of N10,000 per 25kg. Disclosing this to newsmen in Lagos, Comptroller General of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, said the process for the sale of the rice has been perfected such that a form with all the details of the applicants, including the National Identification Number, NIN, will be submitted and a bar code will be generated for the collection of the commodity.

Similarly, Punch News reported that “Nigerians, mostly artisans, have visited the commands of the Nigeria Customs Service to get 25kg of rice for N10,000. This came a few hours after the service announced that it would commence the distribution of the seized food items on February 23, 2024. The Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, had said that the distribution of seized food items would commence on Friday. Adeniyi, while speaking with journalists on February 22, 2024, in Lagos, warned that the seized food items were not to be resold”.

The CDD War Room found that the rice sale was necessitated by the economic meltdown, rising inflation, the continuous increase in the prices of goods and services, and the hardship it has caused to the populace. We found that other measures announced to cushion the effect of this nationwide hardship is the president’s announcement of the release of 102,000 metric tonnes of grains to crash the price of food items, adding that his administration will not resort to food importation. 

The CDD War Room found that as at the time of publishing this report, the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) has begun distribution of 10kg in the Yaba zonal office, Lagos State on February 23, 2024. We found that this distribution exercise is yet to be conducted across other custom offices in the states across the country. 

Meanwhile, on February 27, 2024, Punch News reported that Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has suspended its food disposal initiative following a stampede that claimed seven lives during the distribution of the 25kg bags of rice at its Zonal Headquarters, Yaba, Lagos State.

Verdict: Misleading

The CDD War Room can confirm that the sale commenced only at the Yaba zonal office, Lagos State. The sale was suspended on the February 27, 2024 due to the stampede that claimed seven lives. However, as at the time of this publication, distribution is yet to commence in other custom offices across the country.