By; NIYI OGUNGBOLA, Abeokuta.
The Ogun State Customs Command has generated a whopping sum of N4,085,926,801.65 (four billion eighty-five million nine hundred and twenty-six thousand eight hundred and one naira and sixty-five kobo) as revenue between January and June 2016 as against N3.4 billion recorded within the same period in 2015.
This is just as the Command also disclosed that it made a total of 411 seizures of contrabound goods with Duty Payable Value of N484, 000,000 within the period under review.
The Ogun Area Controller of Customs, Comptroller Multafu Waindu disclosed this to Journalists at idi-iroko during a press conference saying that officers and men of the Command are more committed and tactful in their operations.
According to Multafu, smugglers in Idi-iroko, Oke-odan and Ajilete axis of the State, have embarked on a new method to demobilize Customs Patrol Vehicles by burying spikes along illegal routes when conveying Tokunbo Cars, rice and other prohibited goods into the country.
While presenting various locally made spikes before Journalists, Comptroller Multafu said, “These are some of Spikes being used by smugglers to demobilize our Vehicles while our men on operation are on their trail. They bury them to certain levels on their illegal routes, so that we don’t see them and the flashpoint are Ilase, Ohunbo, Oke-odan and Ajilete border areas between Nigeria and Benin Republic”.
Giving the breakdown of seized goods within the period under review, Controller Multafu said that rice was the most-smuggled goods, while cars and motorcycles are the means of conveyance.
According to him, the Command made seizures of 13,323 bags of rice, 206 Tokunbo Vehicles, 380 Motorcycles, 7,743 frozen poultry products, and 401 kegs of vegetable oil.
Others were 71 bags and 108 wraps of Indian hemp, 240 kegs of petroleum products, 17 bales and 38 sacks of second hand clothing, 1,812 pieces of unprocessed wood and 996 pieces of used tyres among others.
However, giving credit to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Colonel Hammed Ali (rtd), Multafu said that the increase in revenue generation was due to the Service policy thrust and maximum support in terms of provision of necessary equipment and Vehicles.
He said, “The command has re-structured its operational strategies with a view of optimally achieving our core statutory mandates of revenue collection, anti-smuggling campaigns and trade facilitations among other collaborative functions.”
