Oyo/Osun Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) recorded 7,951 seizures between January and July this between January and July this year with total duty paid value put at N210.826milion.
The command arrested thirty five (55) suspects in connection with smuggling of some prohibited items into the country.
The Customs Area Comptroller in charge of Oyo and Osun States, Abdullahi Zulkifli Argungu who disclosed this said that five of the thirty five suspects arrested had been charged to court while thirty are on administrative bail.
Addressing journalists at the command’s headquarters in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the customs boss said the seizures included, six thousand, and sixty seven (50kg) bags of foreign parboiled rice; ninety three vehicles, seven hundred and thirty kegs of vegetable oil (25 litres), thirty nine bales of second hand clothing, nine hundred and sixty six used tyres, fifty bags of sugar (50kg) and six bundles of textile materials within the period under review.
In his breakdown, he revealed that the command in the second quarter of this year made seizures of 50 kg of 3,252 bags of imported rice, 25kg litre kegs for vegetable oil, thirty six bales of second hand clothing, sixty one pieces of used tyres, one used blue colour Peugeot 406, one used ash colour Toyota corolla, one used black colour Toyota Sequoia, one used white colour Toyota Highlander and thirty eight means of conveyance with total duty paid value of N105.744 million.
Argungu however, said the command, between January and July, generated the sum of twenty three billon, eight hundred and seventy eight million, three hundred and ninety five thousand, nine hundred and eleven naira, eight kobo (N23,878,395,911.08).
He stated that the revenue collected between January and July, 2019 surpassed what was collected for the year 2018.
“It is worthy of note that the command in its efforts to combat smuggling, on the 30th July, 2019 commissioned a Customs outpost at Kishi community in Irepo Local Government of Oyo State. Kishi community has long been perceived to engage in smuggling with impunity because of their hostility to officers of the Nigeria Customs Service.
“The outpost was commissioned in the wake of a courtesy call on the governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde on the 17th July, 2019 where the controller appealed to the governor to prevail on Kishi people to refrain from their perceived activities and eschew the avowed hostility to Nigeria Customs Service so as to save themselves from the long arm of the law.
“We will continue to dialogue, engage and educate the local and business communities on the security and economic implications of smuggling, while carrying out the statutory functions of enforcing compliance with the government fiscal policy.
“At this juncture, let me express my appreciation to the governor for admonishing Kishi people on the repercussions of making their community inaccessible to officers of the service through age-old hostility. I also appreciate the resultant effort made by the leadership and people of the community to foster a healthy rapport with officers of the service in the course of discharging the enormous task of suppressing smuggling, facilitating trade and making business environment congenial for men and women in legitimate business.
“My message to the general public is, smuggling is an ill wind that blows nobody any good. Stay away from it. Do not aid and abet it.”
REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan
