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…As Customs boss decries incessant attacks on officers by smugglers
By Steve Agbota, Lagos
A one-legged rice smuggler arrested by the Federal Operations Unit (FOU); Zone ‘A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) last week has narrated how he abandoned farming for smuggling because of an offer of N2,500.
The smuggler, whose identity was given as Faleru Oluwasegun, had one of his legs amputated and uses crutches and was seen dressed up with different charms.
During interrogation, the smuggler said that he usually collects N2,500 to bring in five bags of 50kg imported rice into Nigeria through the Idiroko border into Ogun State.
However, he was full of regrets, as he narrated how he abandoned farming for smuggling because he was offered a token to smuggle rice into the country.
Speaking with newsmen while being paraded by Customs officers in Ikeja last week, Oluwasegun said he used to be a farmer and hailed from Tobolo Oke-Odo area in the Yewa axis of Ogun State.
According to him, after staying for five years without any income, he joined the rice smuggling syndicate through a friend who gave him five bags of rice to smuggle for N2,500.
“I am a farmer from Tobolo Oke-Odo area of Yewa axis in Ogun State. After staying for five years without any income, a friend asked me to help him cross five bags of rice for N2,500. The car that I am using for the rice smuggling business, I got it from a Cooperative Society. I only do rice smuggling occasionally to feed myself. I am not a bad person,” he narrated.
Meanwhile, the Acting Controller of the Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, Hussein Ejibunu said that smuggling is an unpatriotic act and a crime that can lead perpetrators to jail while he decried incessant attacks on Customs officers on duty.
“Sadly however, in our resolve to safeguard the national economy and prevent revenue loss, officers on legitimate duties are ambushed and attacked by suspected smugglers and their sympathisers; using guns, machetes, charms and other dangerous items; the most recent incident of these kinds of assaults on officers is the one arrested using charms to attack personnel at Owoyele Igbogila road of Ogun State.
“While discourage and call for their repentance, any act of recalcitrance would call for the full wrath of the law on anyone found culpable. Also, in our quest to prevent revenue loss through under-valuation, underpayments, and wrong classification, the sum of N103.604 million was collected following the issuance of demand notices to defaulters.
“Let me use this medium to assure the business community that this Unit is ever ready to encourage compliant traders by facilitating their legitimate businesses as enshrined in the extant laws. However recalcitrant traders are strongly advised to desist from violating the extant regulations or be ready to face the full wrath of the law,” he said.
