Hyacinth Chinweuba
The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘A’ of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has recorded contraband with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of over N1.7billion.
This is coming just few weeks after the same Unit made seizures of various prohibited items worth billions of Naira.
Some of the items intercepted were large quantity of pharmaceutical products brought into the country illegally, such as of 1157 cartons of codeine syrup, 348 cartons of diclofenac tablets, 1056 cartons of chest and lungs tablets and 49 cartons of paracetamol injection.
Other items include vehicles, Donkey skin, cannabis sativa, foreign rice, used tyres, secondhand clothes and shoes, amongst several others.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Unit, Comptroller Aliyu Mohammed, made this known during a press conference yesterday, as he displayed the items in the open before Journalists.
According to him, the anti-smuggling drive of the Unit is bringing positive result, as his men are not giving smugglers any breathing space.
Comptroller Aliyu, who took reporters round areas where the seized items were kept, displayed rice seized in cement trucks, which he said is very harmful for consumption because of the cement chemical.
Recalling the unfortunate death of his officer attacked by smugglers just few days ago, he emphasised that the Unit will continue to carry out its anti-smuggling operations in line with the laws.
In a different development, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has approved the unbundling and creation of eight Customs Area commands so as to enhance administrative convenience and boost revenue generation of the service.
A circular signed by the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs (DCG) in charge of Finance, Admin and Technical Services, DCG Aminu Dangaladima, sighted by our correspondent yesterday said that the approval for the unbundling and creation of the eight area commands was granted at the 50th Regular Meeting of the Nigeria Customs Service Board held on Tuesday 21st May, 2019.
According the circular, the area commands so unbundled and created includes; Murtala Mohammed International Airport Area Command from MMAC with Headquarters at MMIA, Ogun II Area Command from Ogun Area Command with Headquarters at Abeokuta, North Eastern Marine Command from Eastern Marine Command with Headquarters at Makurdi and Kaduna Area Command from Kaduna/Katsina Area Command with Headquarters at Kaduna.
Others are Kebbi Area Command from Sokoto/Kebbi/Zamfara Area Command with Headquarters at Birnin-Kebbi, Kwara Area Command from Niger/Kwara/Kogi Area Command with Headquarters at Ilorin, North Western Marine Command from Western Marine Command with Headquarters at Lokoja and Port-Harcourt Oil and Gas FTZ Area Command from PHC I Area Command with Headquarters at Onne.
In a related development, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has approved the elevation of the Service’s Command and Staff College to Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) to be headed by a Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs.
DCG Aminu Dangaladima who disclosed this in a circular on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs in Abuja yesterday said that the elevation, approved by the Nigeria Customs Service Board at its 50th Regular meeting held on Tuesday 21st May, 2019, was part of the reorganization of the service in line with the present management’s agenda.
He noted that the action was to pave way for the college to measure up the responsibility of developing curriculum, conducting training, ensuring synergy and conducting oversight roles in one place.
“Nigeria Customs Service TRADOC will also conceptualize training curricula, allocation of particular levels of training to various Nigeria Customs Service Colleges and oversees the actual conduct of training”, Dangaladima said.