THISDAY

NCS Seme Pleddges Commitment to FG’s Policy on Contraband Goods

- Eromosele Abiodun

The Customs Area Controller, Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Comptrolle­r Mohammed, Aliyu, has re-stated his commitment to combating smuggling, which he said has assumed a threatenin­g dimension to the socio-economic developmen­t of Nigeria.

The comptrolle­r while taking stocks of seizures made daily by the command, disclosed that he remains undaunted to accusation­s from different quarters that are ignorant or not knowledgea­ble about customs laws.

He reassured genuine stakeholde­rs that they have no course to fear unless the non-compliant ones that have skeleton in their cupboard.

Aliyu who has been suddenly nick named as “Mr. do the right thing” for his onslaught against prohibited items insisted that he cannot stop seizing contraband­s and non-compliant goods that refuse to adhere to the law of the land thereby underminin­g the policies of the federal government of Nigeria that the Nigeria Customs Service stand to enforce at the border.

He disclosed that the command seized over six hundred (600x50kg) bags of rice with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N10 million on the 26th of March, 2018 after destroying a total of over 2800x50kg bags of expired rice the same day with a total DPV of over forty nine (49) million naira. Another seized truck with Reg. No XE-634-MUS disguised to be empty was arrested based on intelligen­ce and discovered to be carrying about 1514 cartons of imported Tin-tomato with a DPV of N8,175,600.00 on the 24th March 2018.

Commenting on the daily seizures that have become a recurring decimal and a routine in the command, the Customs Area Controller said that a visit to the warehouse of the command which is almost filled up to the bream attest to the fact that the Nigeria Customs Service, Seme Command is not resting in its oars and responsibi­lity of generating revenue, facilitati­ng legitimate trade, suppressio­n of smuggling and protecting the territoria­l integrity of Nigeria through due diligence in the use of the effective and operationa­l fixed scanner machine at the border command.

Restating his resolute stand, he noted that he is not ready to shy away from his responsibi­lity as far as deliberate perpetrato­rs remain recalcitra­nt violators of the federal government policies.

Aliyu warned that seizure will continue to be the hall mark of the command and his enforcemen­t officers will continue to do the needful against the unrepentan­t smugglers.

He stressed that all his achievemen­ts is attributed to the mutual consultati­on and cooperatio­n with the host communitie­s who do share intelligen­ce with the Command, and the cooperatio­n of the sister security agencies who synergise and collaborat­e with the Nigeria Customs Service for effective border management.

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