Following a series of reports on killings and alleged abuse of power by officials of the Nigeria Customs Service deployed in border communities, the Senate ad hoc committee set up to look into the issue commenced its assignment a few days ago.
For robust and balanced assessment, the committee, chaired by the lawmaker representing Osun East senatorial district, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, visited several borders, including the Nigeria – Benin Republic border in Idiroko, Ogun State.
The popular Idiroko border, a town in the Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State, serves as an entry point into the Republic of Benin and has been recognised as an official border crossing point since the 1960s.
Even though a former Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, David Paradang, said in 2014 that Nigeria had more illegal border routes than the legal ones, Nigeria has about 364 approved international border points, with about 261 in the North-East and North-West.
Some of these legal borders are the Jibiya border post, Katsina State (North-West Zone); the Kamba border post, Kebbi State (North-West Zone); and the Ikom border post, Cross River State (South-South Zone). Other borders are Mfum, Seme, Illela and Maigatari.
Meanwhile, the decision of the Senate to investigate the reported attacks by Customs officials followed the presentation of a matter of urgent public importance by the lawmaker representing Katsina Central senatorial district, Senator Abdulazeez Yar’Adua, at plenary on Wednesday, July 19, 2023.
In his motion, Yar’Adua claimed there had been incessant cases of killings in Katsina, as he described the situation as unacceptable while calling for proper training of officers in the use of firearms.
The lawmaker representing Ogun West, Senator Solomon Olamilekan, had also lamented that in his constituency, individuals have lost their lives due to trigger-happy Customs officials.
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, in consideration of the motion, constituted a committee to be chaired by Fadahunsi, who retired as a deputy Comptroller General of Customs.
On Monday, Saturday PUNCH joined the Senate committee, which embarked on a trip from Lagos to the NCS Ogun 1 Area Command located at Idiroko.
The committee members present were Senators Fadahunsi, Yar’Adua, Napoleon Bali (Plateau South), Olajide Ipinsegba (Ondo North), Kawu Sumaila (Kano South), Shuaibu Lau (Taraba North), and Mohammed Dandutse (Katsina South).
The vehicle left Lagos about 11:05 am and arrived at the agency’s office at 2:15 pm, where the delegation held a meeting with officials of the NCS and met with traditional rulers and residents of the town.
Speaking on the need for the probe, Fadahunsi explained that the delegation had been to Katsina State and would eventually note its findings from the several allegations made against Customs officials.
He said, “The Senate decided to send all of us here to probe why people are killing themselves. Some of us are here and some of us are at other borders. We have also been to Katsina and we have seen the arms in the hands of the officials. The plights of these border communities were brought to the Senate.
“We want to know why you (Customs and villagers) are killing yourselves and why you are no longer exhibiting a sense of neighbourliness you had before the military took over. We want to know what the problem is, who are those doing the killing, what the fight is about, how many people have you killed, how have you been using firearms and how many of you have been killed?”
He said following the closure of the borders by the Federal Government, the committee would also look into what could be done so that when the border is opened, there would be revenue and an atmosphere of security.
He said the delegation would also meet with the Customs comptrollers around the borders “and where the allegations are made, we will table all the allegations made from Katsina, Daura, Funtua and here and we will listen to their reactions”.
Customs respond
Responding to some of the issues raised by the committee, the Comptroller of NCS, Bamidele Makinde, who was represented by his deputy, C. A. Ogunesan, admitted that there were shortcomings but that the agency trains its officers to use firearms only for self-defence.
He stated, “We know our shortcomings and we have accepted them. We have been working and we will continue to work with the community and our royal fathers. There are two sides to a coin and there are issues that brought about all those things that happened in the past, which we believe will not repeat themselves.
“On the use of firearms, it is only when your life is in danger that you can use them because there is a rule of engagement that those firearms are for self-defence. You can only shoot into the air to scare people or escape a rowdy situation. We are not meant to be hunting humans. That is not the reason why we carry arms.
“We have resident officers, head of operations, valuation and other units that work hand in hand. We live in the community and they know where we reside.”
During the town hall meeting, a resident of the town, Deji Olaide, pointed out that the agency had displayed serious abuse of power in the town.
He stated, “There was a case of a schoolboy here who was killed by an official and there have been several other victims. This menace started long ago and we wrote a petition to the National Assembly to report these issues.
“We are angry and the youths are angry due to the increase in prices of goods here compared with other towns. Our people are dying of hunger and our farmers are also affected.”
Another resident, Kolade Agboola, said, “We want the government to enact favourable policies for us in this community, otherwise we will continue to raise our collective voices and we will not take things easy any longer.”
Moshood Ajila, also a resident, accused the NCS of not giving back to the community while complaining about the high rate of unemployment in the area.
“Many of our graduates are unemployed and the policies of the government are hostile towards residents. We don’t have electricity and there have been cases where our petrol stations were shut down by the agency. This is why smuggling has increased and there have been clashes between NCS officers and smugglers,” he added.
Our correspondent gathered that after the probe, the ad hoc committee would proffer solutions and report back to the Red Chamber in six weeks.
Katsina killings
Earlier, Fadahunsi led the delegation on a fact-finding mission to Katsina State and solicited the support of the state governor, Dikko Radda, to put a stop to the menace.
Radda said, “The shooting and killing of our citizens daily is not something a state government should tolerate. At the same time, our people have complained that even the food they want to move from Katsina to Jibia (a border town with Niger Republic) is being blocked by the NCS.”
Dahiru Jibia, a spokesperson for the Jibia community, told journalists an accident which he said was caused by Customs officials.
He said, “The Customs officers were chasing a motorcyclist carrying a bag of rice. They followed him inside the town driving at a high speed and they lost control and ended up crushing many people. About 10 persons died instantly and 15 people sustained serious injuries.”
The governor’s Chief of Staff, Jabiru Tsauri, also said his vehicle was indiscriminately shot at by suspected Customs Service officers at Gorar Yammama while on his way to Abuja, on Thursday, July 13.
The Emir of Daura, Umar Faruk, also decried the illicit operations of Customs officials on the field.
Meanwhile, in August 2021, there were alleged killings of residents by Customs officials during border drills.
Similarly, in September 2021, personnel of the NCS allegedly shot at the convoy of a former Katsina State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Umar Gwajo-Gwajo, while he drove from Daura to Mia’adua Local Government Area of the state.
During an interview with our correspondent, Bali, one of the committee members, blamed the abuse of power on the militarisation of the NCS.
He stated, “The standard operating procedure is that firearms are used only for self-defence but from the petitions we have received, it’s clear the firearms weren’t used in self-defence. This misuse of firearms is rooted in the militarisation of the NCS and there have been calls made for the agency to be demilitarised.
“Another issue is the negligence by the National Boundary Commission, because before now it used to generate billions of naira for the Federal Government.”
Also, Dandutse urged the NCS to adopt modern methods in the collection of import duties.
He added, “It is important to ascertain who the officers manning the borders are and ensure that they are properly trained. Through this fact-finding mission, we hope to examine all the allegations made and probe those who have been complicit.
“The NCS should adopt modern technology in its collection of duties and the use of firearms should not be used militarily.”
