Agency can't stop smuggling into Nigeria, says spokesperson

The spokesperson of the Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, of the Nigeria Customs Service, Jerry Attah, has lamented that the agency cannot completely stop the smuggling of items into the country due to its porous borders.

Attah told Premium Times that it is impossible for Customs officers to man all the borders in the country, and that this makes it easy for smugglers to move illegal items into the country.

He said, "You will agree with me that our borders are very porous, and because of the porosity of these borders, that is why you still see smuggled items in the country.

"There might be issues of negligence, there might not be issues of negligence but there is the issue of porosity of the borders. Some of these smugglers take advantage of the porous borders.

"I can tell you categorically that those smuggled items find their way in through unapproved routes. If you joined all the arms of Customs officers in the country, there is no way we can man all the borders, that is the fact."

Corrupt officers aiding smuggling

Attah further revealed that smugglers are sometimes successful because they collude with dirty Customs officers who turn a blind eye to their illegal operations for a price.

He said, "We are not saying all Customs officers are saints because out of every 12, there is always a Judas. That is why the management of Customs, in recent times, have dismissed those erring officers and we are still looking for those bad eggs in the service to be dismissed as well."

Attah urged members of the public to help the agency to uncover officers that are compromising the standard of the operation.