NCS Makes Seizures in Kebbi 5 Years After

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Western Marine Command (WMC), Apapa has made seizure in Kebbi State five years after the last seizure.

The waterways leading to Kebbi State is part of the areas under the jurisdiction of the WMC.

The seizures include 941 bags of foreign parboiled rice and 66 kegs of petroleum products.

While the seizure is valued at N 6.8 million, its duty is N4.7 million and the duty paid value (DPV) N11.6 million.

The seizure is coming within a month when a new Customs Area Controller (CAC), Comptroller Mohammed Sarkin Kebbi took over the reins of administration from his predecessor, Comptroller Yusuf Umar.

The WMC is an enforcement command and its main function is to protect the waterways, fight insecurity and combat smuggling.

Kebbi disclosed this in a chat with newsmen at the WMC headquarters in Apapa, Lagos.

His words: “We have been able to make unprecedented seizures within 30 days in office from various units comprising south western states and right up to Kebbi State in the northern part of the country, at different dates and times. This was borne out of the new spirit to duty in the command by the officers and men. It is important to emphasize that the last seizure made in the Kebbi axis was over 5 years ago.”

According to him, it is the desire of WMC to ensure that the waterways are safe from the activities of nefarious business men and woman thereby engendering the security of our country while smuggling is reduced to the barest minimum. Realising the enormity of the task ahead, visit were planned to various stations within the command in order to familiarize and gather intelligence necessary for effective administration.

He disclosed that he has visited Badagry and Yekemeh stations in the company of his principal officers.

Other places visited by the CAC include Pashi, Idiroko and Bar Beach, the main approved entry/exit point for vessels to and from Lagos ports.

A Lagos based maritime expert, Prince Olusegun Ologbese has called on Nigerians, especially stakeholders in the maritime industry to support and encourage the security agencies in the country to do more.

Ologbese who is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ogbese Marine Services Limited argued that the support and encouragement of Nigerians for the security agencies will ginger them to achieve more in the discharge of their statutory roles and responsibilities in the months ahead.

The maritime expert who is also the life patron of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ondo/Ekiti Council spoke in Lagos on the heels of the recent arrest of a suspect in connection with the discovery of another large container of arms by officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the Tin Can Port Complex, Apapa. Lagos.

Describing the arrest of the suspect and the discovery of the arms as “commendable”, the maritime expert who is popularly called “Alaye” said: “It was a thing of joy to hear that these arms were not only discovered by officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service but that the suspect behind the importation of the prohibited goods has been arrested. I must tell you, it is a joy for all genuine operators in the maritime industry. This has gone a long way to show that officers and men of Nigeria Customs Service as well as the security agencies are doing a good job”.

Ologbese who is also the President of Association of Good Leadership Advocates Peace Development Lagos, an off-shoot of Concerned People of Lagos State enjoined those involved in the importation of prohibited goods to stop doing so as they are being watched by the security agencies.

He attributed the success recorded by the NCS in recent times especially in the discovery and interception of arms and ammunition in Lagos ports to what he called the “daily improvement of its skills and strategies” compared to the past.

“It is a pity that those who did not know how the port operates are the ones making careless statements on the working of the service. Some Nigerians are always quick to blame officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service. They believes that immediately the importer or licensed custom agent enters the Custom Processing Centre, pay whatever duty he want to pay, they will be allowed to carry their goods out of the ports. They forget that the Nigeria Customs Service from day one knew that the collection of revenue is hard and dangerous and they are fully prepared. That is why from statistics, only 2 percent of the port operators are full compliant. Take it or leave it, the poor man does not do importation not to talk of importing this kind of arms. I can assure you that by the time proper investigation is done on this latest discovery, the world will be shocked by the names of those behind it”, he said.

According to him, the release of goods in the port is not the end of the matter. The goods are subjected to checks and re-checking At the port gates, one can still be checked or outside the port along the expressway. That is the work of the officers and men of the Federal Operation Unit (FOU) and other security operatives. All these processes are put in place to discourage smuggling like what is been witness few days ago. If these smugglers have escaped now, they would have been popping champagne and laughing at the customs by now.

He explained that this was the basis of his call to Nigerians to appreciate and encourage all the security agencies like the NCS, Police, Army and so on to perform their duties better without interference.