By Stephen Ubanna
Comptroller Abdullahi Balogun’s several years of working in anti-smuggling Units, particular, Seme Command, under two or three former Area Comptrollers who were said to be, members of the service Management team may have prepared him ‘’to effectively tackle the activities of smugglers in the south states of Akwa-Ibom, Cross-river, Edo, and the south east states Anambra and Imo’’ , without blinking.
The Calm -looking Customs Comptroller may not have left other south -south states like Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers or the south east states of Abia, Eboyi or Enugu, uncovered as his patrol team officers are fully on ground to ensure that no contraband enters into the country from these other states which are still within his areas of jurisdictions.
This is evident going by the Contraband seizures that was said to have been made by the Command within the last one month or thereabout in the south east and south geopolitical regions. The Customs Comptroller may have stepped up his anti-smuggling operations in Rivers, where there two seaports and Delta, where there is a seaport and several Creeks to avoid flying of Containers.
This is evident going by the Contraband seizures that was said to have been made by the Command, described as ‘’massive’’ by maritime analysts. Compt. Balogun, who may not have given a breather to the unrepentant smugglers operating in the porous states of Edo, which shares borders with Ogun, described as home of smugglers, because of the numerous used by the smugglers to carry out their nefarious activities between neighbouring Republic and Nigeria and Akwa -Ibom a including Cross river which shares boundary with the Central African country of Cameroun by land, sea and the creeks. the creeks
Given a breakdown of contraband that was said to have been made the Command various patrol teams in IN Owerri, the Imo state Capital and its environs includes 725 Bales of second hand clothing, 2,762 Rols of Satin Fabric of 60 yards, 2,589 pneumatic tyres, 233 sacks of 2Kg each of the Asian country of Agricultural par boiled rice, short grain, 14 bags of the Asian country of Thailand parboiled rice of 50 Kg each, three cartons of red wine, one sack of used shoes five cartons of Canadian Loud and and 181 Rolls of Wall covering. This is in addition to the seizures of 102 bottles of diesel of 7Cl diesel, 80 Jerrycans of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, petrol. 78 Jerrycans of25 Liters of Crude oil, and 32 new tyres.
Also, the Command was said to have impounded 25 Bales of Cannabis Sattiva, better known in local parlance as India Hemp, 24 bottles of 150Cl of diesel
He may not have stopped there. The FOU, Zone C, new Area Controller, who was said to have rundown of his achievements in office in the last one month had disclosed that the anti-smuggling unit under his close watch Contraband seizures was worth over N1 billion , sending a signal to the smugglers who past Area Controllers of the Command had battled head long that it is no longer going to business as usual as he was said to have tightened up security in the 11, south eastern and south-south states within the Command’s areas of jurisdictions.
The Customs Controller, who could not hide his feelings was said to sounded t loud and clear to those that cares to listen that ‘’the damages of smuggling to the economy is because of ‘’the negative impact on the local industries and well-being of Nigerians’’
Compt. Balogun may not have put all the command’s attention on containing the activities of the smugglers alone as he was said to concentrated in recovering lost revenue for the government . Aware that the importers and their agents and other stakeholders have a way of short-changing the Federal Government, through false declaration and underpayment may have informed why his officers deployed along the Port-Harcourt to Aba and other parts of the south east are on the alert to ensure that Containers released from the Port of Onne, in Rivers state, going to the south east’s documents are properly scrutinized. The situation is the same along the Benin -Lagos road where agents coming from Lagos, with their clients’ Containers released from the Lagos port of Apapa, Tin-can Island Commands or vehicles released from Port Multi-services Terminal , PTML, are always scared when getting around the Benin Toll gate for fear that the FOU, Zone C, officers may stop them to ascertain the contents of their Containers or vehicle to ensure that the importers had paid the appropriate duties.
The Command was said to have recovered over N13, for the government which should have entered into private pockets
