OnTuesday 18 October, 2016, the Comptroller of the Oyo/Osun Command of the Nigeria Customs Service(NCS), Mr. Temitope Ogunkua, made some startling revelations on the operations of some Nigerian importers who are bent on breaking the laws of the land in order to cut corners and maximise profit. Oseheye Okwuofu, who witnessed the event in Ibadan, reports.

Most of the people who gathered at the parade were not surprised to see the crude methods now being employed by some fraudulent Nigerians to conceal smuggled goods into the country from neighbouring countries. With the propensity at which smugglers fret banned products into Nigerian markets, many few people were shocked that such practices are now in vogue.

“We say these goods are banned, yet you go into the markets and you find them all over the place. So, it is obvious that some sharp practices are being employed to get them into the country,” one of those present at the parade said. Expectedly, many concerned citizens and other stakeholders gathered at the headquarters of the Oyo/Osun command of the Nigeria Customs to witness the showcasing of the seized goods.

One of the amazing cases shown by the Controller was the manner in which bags of rice were concealed in a commercial bus. A huge hole was carefully created in the bus and bags of rice were loaded deep down after which several tubers of yam were loaded atop to create the impression that only yams were carried in the vehicle.

About five commercial buses were loaded same way. But nemesis has its way of foiling such trickery. Thus, eagle -eyed customs officers intercepted the buses. According to the Controller, over ten thousand bags of rice were seized in the last nine months within Oyo and Osun states axis. Arrested suspects, he said, were being investigated while others have been arraigned in court for prosecution.

He called for public support in the fight against smuggling; just as he warned importers against the evils associated with smuggling. The effects of these nefarious activities on nation’s economy, he explained, are very devastating. According to the Customs boss, many local producers are being strangulated by the activities of smugglers. .

He said unless Nigerians stop smuggling, the country would continue to experience economic down turn. Also paraded were various exotic cars smuggled into the country through different land borders with no duty paid. He cited many benefits of the ban on rice  imports through land borders, noting  that government has not placed total ban on rice import.

“For instance, anybody is free to import rice through the ports once he’s going to pay for import duties on the products,”he explained.

The command, he said generated a sum of N11.1billion between the months of January and September this year as excise duties from companies within the command . Ogunkua also disclosed that one hundred and eighty-eight assorted seizures were made with a duty value of three hundred and sixty-eight million, six hundred and thirty-seven thousand, seven hundred and eighty-eight naira, three kobo (N368,637,788.03) within the period under review.

The Area Controller hinted  that his leadership would continue to deal decisively with the economic saboteurs and work for the security wellbeing of the nation. He said, “In the face of challenging economic situation in the nation, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has stepped up its operation by blocking all revenue leakages in order to collect maximum duty accruable to the Federal Government.

“This has led to the arrest of various assorted, luxury vehicles smuggled into the country through unapproved border routes. Ogunkua maintained that despite the various campaigns against smuggling, some elements are still smuggling various assorted items into the country.

“It is disheartening to note that despite the arrest and seizure of about ten thousand bags of rice between the months of January to September 2016, the smugglers have continued their nefarious activities daring the Federal Government ban on the importation of the rice through the border areas.

He announced that the command had recently seized one fairly used Honda Crosstour, one fairly used lexus Rx 300 and Rx 450, one fairly used Honda CRV, one fairly used Mazda 626 and one used Volkwagon bus.

Others included fairly used Mitsubishi outlander, one fairly used Toyota carina E, one fairly used Toyota prius, one fairly used Toyota Avalon, two fairly used Toyota Previa, five fairly used Toyota buses with Rice,and one fairly used Toyota picnic loaded with Rice.

He said the above items were seized at different locations within the command coverage. Present at the event were top ranking customs officers, journalists, and other security agencies.

SOURCE: THE NATION NEWSPAPER