THE Katsina Area Command of Nigeria Customs Service has raised the alarm over the alleged collaboration between smugglers of contrabands in Katsina State and terrorists carrying out attacks in the state.
This is as it said it intercepted smuggled 338 jerrycans of PMS worth N1.4m and other contraband worth N69.6m in January 2022.
The Area Commander, DC Dalha Wada-Chedi, who disclosed this, also lamented that the smugglers, in their desperation to carry out their unlawful activities, launch attacks on officers of the agency.
“Some desperate smugglers in the state go to the extent of collaborating with bandits to launch attacks on our officers. Some people in the community are also bent on destroying our credibility through rumour-mongering.
”Our men and officers of the command will not be deterred by the activities of the hoodlums and economic saboteurs. We call community leaders to continue to caution their people to desist from aiding the smugglers and support the NCS,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Wada-Chedi as saying at the Customs/Community Consultative Forum in Katsina on Thursday.
But Governor Aminu Masari has called on the NCS to reopen the Jibia-Niger Republic border for legitimate commercial activities.
Masari, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Mustapha Inuwa, at the forum, said despite the closure of the border by the NCS, smuggling and other illegal commercial activities persist at the border.
“The service must understand that they are supposed to serve the people and make border areas into areas that can genuinely improve the economy. Go to the border towns and see. People are coming in and going out with goods at will. Therefore, the borders should be reopened and measures should be taken to ensure that law and order in the borders are adhered to,” he was quoted as saying.
Earlier, Wada-Chedi explained that some of the items intercepted included 10 vehicles worth N24.2m, 629 bags of rice worth N15.9m, 826 cartons of spaghetti worth N4.96m, and 110 jerry cans of 25-litre vegetable oil worth N2.8m.
“We also seized 96 cartons of foreign milky worth N2.02m, 46 cartons of foreign milk worth N1.012m, 79 cartons of foreign macaroni worth N474,000.00, 15 pieces of super cereal corn soya blend worth N47,250.
“Others were 338 jerry cans of PMS worth N1.4m, 50 bales of second-hand clothing worth N7.2m, eight bales of new blankets worth N4.8m and 235 pieces of foreign jack knives worth N775,500,” he said.
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