By Eromosele Abiodun
The Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced that its continued anti-smuggling drive has led to the crackdown on the activities of deviant smugglers along the Seme border.
The Customs Area Controller, Mohammed Aliyu in a statement said the smugglers had hitherto refused to heed to the clarion call of the command to desist from cross border crimes through sensitisation and creation of awareness under various platforms.
According to him, “The operatives of the command’s enforcement unit acting promptly on classified information, arrested 2,200 cartons of Tin tomato in a truck with Reg. No. LND 759 XE along the Lagos-Badagry Express road on the 12th of February 2018. Sixty three (63) front and backlight of used spare parts (light accessories) were also intercepted on the 11th March 2018 in a Siena bus with Reg. No. KRO 530 EP along the Lagos-Badagry Express road.
“The goods with DPV of over 6million were all deposited in the government warehouse of the command. It is a routine practice of the command to interface with its stakeholders at various levels for mutual consultation, sensitisation and creation of awareness on the need to comply with the federal government policies on import prohibitions.â€
While inspecting the seizures, Aliyu disclosed that the new operational strategies adopted by the command that is intelligent driven is yielding positive results, as victims of non-compliance are nib in the bud by the eagle eye of the enforcement officers and men of the service.
Commenting further, the comptroller said that the command’s holistic approach in executing the mandate of the service led to an all-encompassing result as revenue generation, suppression of smuggling and legitimate trade facilitation is adequately enhanced at the Lagos –Abidjan corridor without compromising national security.
He said that the command has generated N1.079 billion in the first two months of 2018 from the expected N1.350 billion target representing approximately 80 per cent of the given target.
The command being an international land border, Aliyu admonished officers to ensure that the golden rules for the service operation is always brought to the fore while discharging their statutory functions.
He enlightened the officers the need for positive attitudinal change that is vital to the discharge of their professional functions with due diligence.
He also warned officers to be aware of the current wind of change blowing in the service hence the need to key into the reform agenda of the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd.).
He added that failure to comply with approved procedures and guidelines in order to avoid infractions will be met with severe disciplinary action that is commensurate with the offence committed in line with the service preventive regulation.
He noted that Seme command is no longer a safe haven for illicit activities and trans-border crimes, as any attempt by deviant stakeholders are always met with stiff response/penalties by the proactive officers and men of the command’s anti-smuggling unit.
