The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ikeja has warned importers and their clearing agents against making false declarations in their documentation, as the unit has vowed to tighten its noose through intelligence-driven operations against underpaying duties and any form of concealment by any economic saboteur.
The Controller of the Unit, Mohammed Shuaibu, also emphasised the importance of complying with global best practices and established rules of engagement in maritime and shipping operations to prevent the seizure of their goods.
Shuaibu gave the warning during a courtesy visit by the members of the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) to his office in Lagos.
Shuaibu, an anti-smuggling czar, promised to deploy his wealth of experience to navigate the complexities of the Unit and bring to bear intelligence-driven operations rather than stopping containers incessantly on the highways.
He said, “This command is meant to be an anti-smuggling command, but we also facilitate trade. In terms of our anti-smuggling activities, very soon we are going to showcase some of our seizures to the public. These include some illicit drugs and the suspects involved in the deal.
“I do intelligence-driven operations. What we are trying to do is to ensure that we don’t just stop any kind of containers, even those checking points you see our officers roving around, we would want to eradicate that, while we will be doing intelligence-driven operations.
“So, at any point in time, you will see that our officers will stop you and then remove those illegal items that are supposed to be extracted from your consignment. If importers and clearing agents are honest in declaring exactly what they have in their containers, why do we need to disturb ourselves moving around with vehicles to track them? We should relax in the comfort of our office to do the operation.
“So, sometimes, if you see such officers coming out, it is because of the insincerity of the declarants or the importers. Now, we are going to be doing intelligence-driven operations, so if you see them stationed at a strategic location, it is because of the information at our disposal that we are tracking”, he explained.
He, therefore, enjoined importers and clearing agents to always be compliant in their declarations, saying, “If they are compliant, we don’t need to see contrabands inside their boxes”.
He also urged the media to continue to support the NCS in sensitising the general public about engaging in legitimate trade and making honest declarations at the point of entry.
He promised to consolidate on the successes achieved earlier, collaborate and synergise with the necessary stakeholders in facilitating trade.
According to him, the command is always collaborating with sister agencies, and one of such collaboration was recently done with the Nigerian Army.
He said the Service is also collaborating with the media to showcase its operational modalities and also sensitise the public and engage the youths to do legitimate business while shunning illegal dealings.
According to him, the sensitisation programme helps to facilitate trade and gives the importers the necessary information regarding cross-border trade.
“Some of them don’t even know that what they are doing is illegal. So, many times we have to adopt surveillance strategies to police the unapproved routes, and then rechannel them to the approved routes. Some of them are doing legitimate businesses, but they don’t know, they still go through the unapproved routes. Meanwhile, they only need to do a little documentation and go. So these are part of the sensitisation that we have been doing when I was in Ogun, and I will extend it to other commands so that they will now understand the proper way of cross-border trade.
“This will make the whole operation seamless, and then the government will also generate more revenue while the public will also engage in different kinds of legitimate trade and create more employment opportunities,” he stated.
The President of SCAN, Moses Ebosele commended the NCS particularly the Comptroller – General of the Service, Adewale Adeniyi and officers of FOU Zone ‘A’ for their galant stance to protect the economy against economic saboteurs and illicit items, assuring that the media would continue to support the campaign against smuggling to boost the nation’s economy.
