Photo caption : Officers and men of the FOU Zone A in a group photograph the outgoing Comptroller.Hussein Ejibunu
The Nigeria Customs Service(NCS) Federal Operations Unit Zone A, said it seized 3,189 contraband items worth N35.91 billion in 31 months.
This is just as he also revealed that 386 suspects were arrested in connection with some of the seizures.
This was made known by the outgoing Comptroller of the unit, Hussein Ejibunu, at the unit office in Lagos on Friday, while reviewing his activities as the leader of the unit between Sept. 10, 2021,when took over till date.
He explained that 22 people were convicted for committing Customs related offences, within the 31 months.
According to him, “Prominent among the seizures but not limited to the following are 222,285 X 50kg bags of foreign parboiled rice (370 trailer loads); 1.14 million litres of premium motor spirit (33 tankers); 16,432.30kg of Indian Hemp.”
He continued, “26,303 pieces of used pneumatic tyres; 11,175 bales of used clothes; 751x 70mm of live cartridges; 12,912 cartons of foreign frozen poultry products; 5,033 pieces of donkey skin.
“450 x 106kg drums of carbide; 233 cartons x 225mg of tramadol; 7,640 cartons of expired and unapproved drugs; 303 units of foreign used vehicles and 104 Haojue motorcycles.
“The Unit recovered the sum of N2.25 billion through the issuance of demand notices (D/N) due to transfer of value and wrong classification.”
The Unit, Ejibunu pointed out worked assiduously to ensure that the successes they recorded were achieved.
He, however, lamented that unfortunately, while on legitimate duties within the zone’s area of operations, eight officers sustained different degrees of injuries while five lost their lives in the line of duty.
He said that his journey of leadership of the unit that commenced on Sept. 10, 2021 till date was a bit challenging but above all, very successful.
In his words, “A part of the challenges encountered when I assumed duty newly was the continued rate of suspected smugglers’ attacks on officers while on duty.”
Speaking further, Ejibunu said, “To mitigate such levels of attacks, the unit embarked on sensitisation programmes and courtesy visits to traditional rulers of border communities which yielded a drastic reduction in the levels of deadly confrontations and attacks.
“Other successes recorded by the Unit under my watch include improved suppression of smuggling by making more seizures and arrest of suspects. “These served as a deterrent to intending smugglers.
“We also recorded increased revenue recovery through meticulous documentary checks and issuance of demand notices on goods found to have been underpaid. “Enhanced trade facilitation by providing escorts for goods on fast track for compliant traders.”
He expressed his appreciation to the Customs management under the leadership of Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi, for giving him the opportunity to serve as the head of the command.
Ejibunu also commended officers and men of the unit for their untiring support, dedication, gallantry and uncompromising posture in the fight against smuggling and revenue recovery.
On his part, the new Comptroller of the command, Kola Oladeji, praised the commitment of the outgoing comptroller, promising to try his best to keep the flag flying.
He appealed to the media to extend the cooperation given to Ejibunu to him, assuring that he would operate an open-door policy.
Speaking further, Oladeji said, “I served as a Customs Intelligence Officer in many Commands such as Tincan Island, Apapa, at the headquarters in Abuja, Zamfara among other places.
“I am appealing to officers and men of this command not to mind my face as much as my mind because it is my intelligence and investigational background that have made me strict.
“I will work under the core mandate of the service which is to combat smuggling, generate revenue and facilitate legitimate trade, which will be fairly implemented. “We have nothing to hide but in terms of intelligent contribution, we need everyone’s support,” Oladeji said.
Also speaking, the Deputy Comptroller in charge of Administration of Zone ‘A’, Judith Kanu, thanked the outgoing comptroller for the exemplary leadership he had demonstrated during his tenure.
Kanu said that none of the staff was reported to the headquarters during his tenure, adding that he and his managing officers resolved their differences in a mature manner.
She pleaded with her colleagues to extend the support given to the past Comptroller to Oladeji to enable the Federal Government succeed in combating smuggling and facilitating legitimate trade, adding that it is only with their cooperation that success can be achieved.
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