Association of Nigeria Customs Licensed Agents (ANLCA) has slammed the Controller General of Customs (CGC), Colonel Hameed Ibrahim Ali, (retrd) for threatening to close the Nigerian land borders in the wake of the influx of arms into the country.
Reacting to the threat, the Chairman of ANLCA, Seme chapter, Alhaji Lasisi Bisiriyu Fanu, argued that the CG could not have referred to the Seme Border which is the only border in the country that has a scanning machine.
The scanning machine, he said, cannot pass arms, arguing that of all the four containers intercepted with arms, none has been traced to have been imported through the Seme Border.
“We have never discovered such at the land border. So, I don’t know the reason why the Federal Government wants to close Seme Border with the little imports we are left with. When I got the news I was shocked because the CG himself knows that as the first border that links Nigeria to the West African coast, Seme Border is the only border with scanning machine.
“Many people do not pass here because of the strictness of the officers that we have in Seme Border now. The smugglers leave Cotonuo, pass through Niger and bring their items through Kebbi State . There is no more smuggling here (Seme). Rice doesn’t come through Seme Border again. The cars don’t come in through here again.” he said.
Even with the ban on rice and vehicles, he said, between December last year and July this year, Seme Command was able to generate over N700 million
“The controller we have now, Aliyu Mohammed, is doing his best to ensure that he plugged every loophole” Fanu said.
However, Fanu suggested to the CG to plant his men on the road with a view to apprehending corrupt customs officers. “The customs have military men who are attached to them on the road. Let them come unannounced, pick one or two officers and dismiss them. There will never be connivance. That is the simple truth” the chairman, stated.
Arms: Agents slam customs CG over plans to close border
