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Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Nigeria Customs Service (NIS), Oyo/Osun Area Command, has arrested eight suspected smugglers and, also, generated over N6 billion in the first quarter of 2019.
The disclosure was made by the Customs Area Controller for the command, Comptroller Abdullahi Zulkifli, during a press briefing at the command’s headquarters, Ibadan, Oyo State capital, yesterday.
He said the suspects were arrested at various locations and have been granted conditional bail, adding that they would be charged to court soon.
Zulkifli also said the command has secured the conviction of a smuggler, Bayo Mafo, who “was sentenced by the Federal High Court, Ibadan, to three years imprisonment for impersonating as a customs officer and obtaining money under false pretences.
He said this will serve as a warning to others to desist from such illegalities.
The area controller said the command collected N13,397,441,364.71 from excise duties in the first quarter of 2019, as against N6,032,964,650.94, generated within the same period in 2018. “This shows an increase of 101.4 percent in the revenue collected within the first quarter of last year,” he said.
Zulkiflu, however, vowed that the officers and men of the command will not relent in their efforts in fighting smuggling, with a view to protecting “our indigenous industries, reviving ailing ones and, at long run, creating wealth and jobs for our unemployed youths.”
