The Nigeria Customs Service has assured citizens that the nation’s borders would soon be fully protected.
The Comptroller General of the Service, Hammed Ali disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday at the weekly briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team.
According to the Customs Boss, the organisation is already conducting an intensive patrol around the borders, in collaboration with security agencies to realize the goal.
He said: “We have agreed on the constitution of what we call the Joint Border Patrol Team. Today we have a conglomeration of the Army, Airforce, and all other security agencies that have together under one roof to ensure the security of our borders, the team comprises both the military and paramilitary, with Customs as the leading agency because we are the gatekeepers in this operation.
“We have about four sectors from Cross River State up to Yobe. We are not covering between Borno and parts of the Adamawa States because of the ongoing military operation there. Therefore, the military has asked us to keep off those areas because they are handling that and until the areas are secured, we will not be able to go there. ”
Ali added that technology will also be deployed to further secure the borders, in line with current global best practices.
“Secondly, we are trying to increase our arsenal by increasing our capacity to be able to fight to smuggle and ensure we monitor our borders. The modernisation process that we are putting in place, otherwise called e-Custom, has an inbuilt system for border monitoring which will be linked to ICT systems and cloud information.
“We are working with the Airforce to make sure that we monitor our borders and ensure effective control. We intend to have more aircraft as well as talking with the Army to train our officers to learn to para drop so that they will be able to intercept the actions of smugglers,” he added.
The Customs Boss said Nigeria is working closely with her neighbours to fortify the borders.
“We are making sure that we work closely with our neighbour as that is the best way of solving this problem. If we have a good understanding of our neighbouring countries and we work based on the ECOWAS protocol, all these things will stop.
“Between us and Nigeria Republic, we have almost a perfect system in place and if there is a problem, it is only minimal cases of smuggling; where we problem is on our borders with the Benin Republic but we are working with them to see if we can create a synergy to be able to protect ourselves and protect each other,” Ali stated.
Target
The Customs Comptroller General disclosed that the Service was given a revenue target of N3.019 trillion for the year 2022 and so far they have collected more than half of that target, adding that they will meet the target.
“We were given a target of N3.019 trillion for the year 2022 and we have so far collected N2.143 trillion so, we are working towards making sure that we get to the target. The collection of telecommunication and carbonated drinks tax is part of the target given to us but up till now, we have not started collecting that, which we will do. But we are working very assiduously to make sure that we block all leakages and by the end of December, we will report to Nigerians that we have met our over three trillion naira target,” he said.
On seized goods, he said the Customs Service gives food items to displaced persons and the needy, based on the directives of President Muhammadu Buhari. He said they distribute the food items in conjunction with the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration (NAFDAC).
He said: “What we do with the seized goods such as rice, tomatoes, and the rest, are given to the needy. In the past, we either sold or destroyed them. But with the coming of this administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, being a compassionate leader has given directives.
“So, all perishable goods seized by the Customs are now given to the needy. Primarily we were giving them to the displaced persons because before the advent of the flood and banditry the displaced persons were the most pronounced people in need but now the President has mandated the Nigeria Customs Service to ensure that all perishable items are given to these people to alleviate their suffering. ”
Automation
The Custom Boss also revealed that the process is on for the full automation of the activities of the Service, leading to the electronic processing of goods and taxes.
He said when all activities of the Customs are fully automated that will enhance revenue generation and prevent the import of illicit goods into Nigeria as well as monitor the country’s borders.
He said the automation is a 20-year project that will cost about 3.8 billion dollars to actualise.
Dominica Nwabufo
