The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), disclosed that its daily revenue collection has hit over N4 billion, despite the harsh economic climate prevalent in the country.
The service also revealed the seizure of 124,269 bags of 50kg parboiled rice valued at N956,871,300 between January and October, from smugglers, who do not want to import the staple commodity via the seaport as directed by the Federal Government.
In an interview with Daily Sun in Abuja, the Public Relations Officer of NCS, Joseph Attah, said the management has vowed to tackle smugglers headlong, especially during the yuletide, when they become too desperate to ply their illicit trade.
He said Customs officers and men have been fortified with adequate operational tools for greater efficiency, especially in the area of anti-smuggling, facilitation of legitimate trade and promotion of national security.
According to Attah, “there is no respite for smugglers. The war is total and cuts across the length and breath of Nigeria. From vehicles and rice to guns and other items, we are not relenting and no region is spared.
“So, those who say it is sectional or a witch-hunt are clearly speaking out of ignorance. Every part of Nigeria is our jurisdiction. We don’t focus on a particular region. The intensity of our operations is determined by volume of smuggled items in any region such that we know the pattern. You will likely see heavy presence of our men around areas with busy land borders and seaports. It’s natural.
“We know we have some porous borders since our men cannot be everywhere at the same time but we also have our intelligence gathering apparatus. It is quite effective and it is helping us.
“We are, however, appealing to those living around the borders to collaborate with us. They should stop throwing spanners in our works by giving information on our movement to these criminals. No matter the inducement, smugglers remain our enemies not friends. If we keep allowing these banned products to come in, how can our local industries grow? How can we earn foreign exchange? How can we tackle unemployment effectively? Worse still, some of these imported commodities are even toxic,” he said.
Source- THE SUN
