From John Ogiji
The Niger/Kogi Area Command of the Nigerian customs said it has made seizures of goods, including exotic cars and consumable items worth N755M in the last three months.
The goods include 101 units of exotic cars, clothes, rugs, bottled water, foreign wines, ketchup, spaghetti, Basmati rice, tomato soup, foreign parboiled rice, whipped cream, vegetable oil and others.
Displaying the seized items at the Command s Headquarters in Minna on Monday, the Niger/Kogi Area Comptroller, Abubakar Mohammed Adamu, said that the seizure was made possible because the Command has intensified the war against smugglers in the Area Command in recent times.
In addition to this, he pointed out that the deployment of different measures towards ensuring that the area becomes unbearable to smugglers also accounted for the successes recorded within the period.
According to him, 140 rolls of foreign rugs, 50 bales of second-hand clothing, 920 kegs of PMS, 8 motorcycles and 200 pieces of used tyres were also among the seized goods.
“The Cumulative Duty Paid Value (DPV) for all the seized items amounted to seven hundred and fifty-five million, three hundred and seventy-seven thousand, eight hundred and sixty-six naira only (N755,377,866.00),” Adamu added.
The Comptroller disclosed further that this massive deployment of intelligence during the operations also help the command in the operations, adding however that “by applying the rules of engagement during the operations, no casualty was recorded.”
He also stated that with the posting of the Post Clearance Audit (PCA) and Valuation officers to the Command, the Command has been able to recover N74,919,135 from Demand notices and disposal of seized PMS.
Adamu warned smugglers operating within Niger/Kogi Area Command and its environs to stay clear, as the Federal Government’s directive on border closure is still in force in Babanna which is the only border station in the Command, stressing that “there will be no export or import activities through border until further notice.
“Let me again warn smugglers and criminal elements that we will always discover all illegal routes they use for their nefarious activities, make seizures, arrest and cripple their illegitimate. To be forewarned is to be forearmed,” he warned.
Adamu further said that the Command has been engaging the traditional rulers to warn their wards and subjects to desist from smuggling activities while the youths in the border communities are being enlightened on the ills of smuggling and other related vices to the Nigerian economy.