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By Innocent Orok
Deputy comptroller Joseph Attah, National Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Customs Service
The Nigeria Customs Service is compiling the names of registered Orphanage homes and other IDP camps accros the Country apart from the ones in the North East to distribute relief materials including Rice and other edible items.
The Service National Public Relations Officer, Deputy Comptroller Joseph Attah disclosed this today to Journalists in an end of the year breakfast meeting with the media men in Lagos. .
Attah also said that the Service from January to November 2018 has generated a whooping N1.1Trillion surpassing the N1.035Trillion collection by the Service from January to December 2017.
Attah who was accompanied by some Commands PROs from zone A also said that the NCS recorded a total of 4,010 seizures with a Duty Paid Value of N40billion during the same period.
DC Attah also said that the experience of the Service in the outgoing year have shown that with robust stakeholders engagement, enhanced automation and strict implementation of the imports and exports guidelines, the service can generate more revenue and effectively suppress smuggling to the bearest minimum in the Country.
On anti -smuggling feats of the Service, he said suppressing it remains the most challenging aspect of Customs functions as anti- smuggling operations are seen differently by different people. In his words “Regrettably, many people still see smuggling as business and not crime.
In fact, smuggling is not just a crime, but the mother of many crimes and criminalities. violent crimes are perpetrated with dangerous items such as arms and drugs smuggled into the country. Apart from its negative impact on national economy, smuggling has devastating effects on security and well-being of any nation.” he said.
Adding that the more the Customs Service intensified efforts in combating smuggling, the more confrontation they get through porous borders, non cooperative attitude of some border dwellers, readiness of some citizens to help the smugglers mob customs operatives, lack of proper implementation of the ECOWAS protocol on transit by the neighboring countries and the use of motorcycles and animals to smuggle through difficult terrains.
On the disposal of seized items, the Customs imagemaker said a total of 806 vehicles were uploaded on the Service e-auction platform app. trade. gov. ng/eauction out of which 753 winners emerged and a total sum of N346,146,349 have been generated through the e-auction sells. According to Attah the platform is open from Monday to Wednesday by 12noon every week.
On the disposal of rice and other edible items by the Service the Customs spokesman said a total of 424,391 (50kg) bags of rice worth N4,047,615,000 and other seized perishable items were distributed to the IDP camps in Borno, Yobe,Adamawa and Edo States. Stating that with the relative peace in the North East and the IDPs returning to their ancestral homes and engaging in farming, the need for the items by the IDPs will reduce, while continuous seizures by Customs increases as such it’s demands extensive distribution.
Attah said to this end “The CGC has therefore sought and obtained a Presidential nod to extend the distribution of these items to other IDP camps and registered orphanages across the Country. Already lists of IDPs and orphanages in the Country are being compiled with a view to kick -starting the distribution as soon as possible” Attah said .
It could be recalled that the Customs intercepted 59x40ft containers of Tramadol and other controlled drugs from three of its Commands of Apapa 40 containers, Tin Can Island 10 containers and Port Harcourt Area II, Onne, 9 Containers.
Attah said the establishment of the Customs Police Unit whose job is to check acts of undiscipline and other vices not- in- line with the ethics of the Service is fast turning the Service into a national example for service delivery.
