By Hyacinth Nwafor
Things are looking up at the Idiroko, Ogun 1 command. In the last six weeks of his assumption of office as the sheriff of the Customs command, the entire Ogun state where smuggling takes place has been charged up.
Charged up in terms of hard policing, being a step higher than the economic saboteurs, in terms of intelligence to break several of the chains of their operations.
Right now, the new man on the saddle, Deputy Comptroller Oladapo Afeni is combing the nooks and crannies of all the border fringes looking for economic saboteurs.
Those who specialize in moving prohibited items into Nigeria through Ogun borders via Imeko axis and Ipokia are now taking cover outside the jurisdiction of the command.
An independent investigation revealed that most of these smugglers are based in Benin Republic, using Nigeria to ferry assorted products narcotics, arms and ammunition, used vehicles, foreign parboiled rice as well as used clothes, using the country as a dumping ground.
Knowing the geography of the entire terrain in his finger tips, the new Customs helmsman has drawn a red line against smugglers of all sorts.
In his renewed war against this ill, Afeni not only measured up in intercepting uncustomed goods but have also oversight powers against smuggling of narcotics which is the primary responsibility of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Infact, as a matter of fact, in this January alone, the command intercepted more narcotics than the primary agency domiciled at the Border.
It is obvious that the customs command also seized more narcotics than foreign parboiled rice in same January. Majority of Nigerians are aghast with the upsurge in narcotics trafficking.
First, it has been established that smugglers make huge money from such imports, secondly, it is easier to smuggle in view of its light weight packaging, and thirdly, there is a ready market for it as the youths are prone to patronizing it lately.
Afeni stated that the command’s focus for tightening anti-smuggling operations was majorly linked to the fact that drugs are central to criminality with all the collateral damage it can unleash to those who patronize it.
Secondly, for security reasons and in view of the political instability in nearby Benin Republic, as well as the upcoming elections in Nigeria, the command has stepped up examination of all imports to ensure that arms and ammunition were not brought in under cover.
This sounds very reasonable.
And in view of the fact that the NDLEA at Idiroko does not look so efficient due to what the agency at the border described as lack of adequate facilities to work with, the customs comes in handy for the rescue.
A visit to the NDLEA command at the Idiroko border to see the commander for his reaction on why the customs service seems to have been doing most of its responsibilities, the commander, Mr Ekundayo was said to be on official assignment in Lagos.
But the Deputy Commander, Mr. Adeoyeoye said his command was just in charge of Idiroko and Ipokia while the customs command has the entire Ogun state as its jurisdiction, a factor for the huge narcotics seizure, according to him.
In January alone, the Idiroko customs command intercepted more than 4,260 parcels of cannabis sativa and cannabis Indica.
This is against about 2,700 bags of foreign parboiled intercepted in same period under consideration.
The Customs Boss literally up in arms with smugglers of all sorts and he is winning on several fronts.
He has promised that there is no letting down, neither will he compromise in all the mandates given to him by the Comptroller General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, PhD, MFR.
Afeni has however, promised constant engagement communities as well as traditional institutions to educate them on the dangers of smuggling to the nation’s economy, while sharpening its Corporate social responsibility (CSR) within his jurisdiction.