Acting Controller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi on Sunday, charged personnel at the Ogun Area 1 and 2 Command’s to remain extra vigilant towards ensuring that cross-border criminals do not take advantage of them to smuggle any supplies to the Republic of Niger.
This is coming just as Adeniyi also promised that NCS will be making “appropriate recommendations” for a review of the restrictions on petroleum products supplies to fueling stations in and around the Idiroko border.
The acting Customs’ Controller stated these while addressing men and officers of the commands when he paid his first official visit to Idiroko Border as part of his familiarization tour of the NCS formations nationwide.
Adeniyi said the NCS’ need to be extra vigilant becomes necessary in view of the presidential directives, which brought about the closure of the Nigerian borders against the neighbouring Republic of Niger as collectively agreed to by the Economic Communities of West Africa (ECOWAS).
Reiterating that NCS has twin responsibilities of enhancing national and regional securities, Adeniyi disclosed that the Service under him has taken some far reaching decisions and by the time its implementation begins, cross-border criminals would resort to exploring openings in some less vigilant borders to smuggle things into that country.
“Idiroko Border is a very strategic Gateway into Nigeria, Republic of Benin and by extension, the sub region. So, we cannot afford to allow criminals, who perpetrate crimes across our borders to do things that are inimical to our national securities.
“I am here this morning to remind ourselves of our collective mandate to keep away criminals operating around our borders. Whether they come in the forms of smuggling, human or drug trafficking, or things that will affect our public health, we have a collective responsibilities to confront them and beat them to their games”.
“We are all aware of the situation with our neighbouring Republic not Niger. Response to the presidential directives by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the Nigeria President and chairman of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), we are closely monitoring the situation in Niger”.
“Anywhere we have borders that could be compromised and there could be attempts to use routes that are not necessarily normal for them to cross things into Niger. All transit goods into Niger must be stopped. Anywhere you see goods transiting Nigeria to Niger Republic through the Customs’ territory should be stopped.
“This is also a time for us to remain very vigilant because enemies of the state are still at work. Those who are bent at destabilizing the country are at work. This is therefore, a reminder that you cannot afford to relax. At any point in time, your level of vigilance and alertness must be 100 percent”.
“You must be ready at all the time; you must cultivate very credible and reliable intelligence from amongst the community that you live and you must learn to cooperate and synergize with other agencies to enhance national security”.
Commenting on the 20-kilometers restrictions on supplies of petroleum products to fueling stations, Adeniyi explained NCS will be requesting a review of the policy which warranted such restriction, particularly when payment of fuel subsidy has been removed.
“I can assure you that we are working with the appropriate authorities of government. We will be requesting a review of those policies if we see situations that warrant a review of such policies exists in your operations at the borders.
“Example: compliance with the extant laws on import and exports; if we see the supports of the communities cooperating with government agencies to enforce those laws. Of course, we will make appropriate recommendations for a review of issues like the border closures; importations of the second hand vehicles through the land borders and most importantly, because of the removal of the fuel subsidies, we will also make recommendation for a review of petroleum products supplies to fueling stations in and around the borders.”
