[dropcap]T[/dropcap]HE Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Worker (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have raised concern over the level of insecurity in the country. The President of PENGASSAN, Mr Ndukaku Ohaeri, and his NUPENG counterpart, Mr Williams Akporeha, spoke at a joint news conference on Tuesday in Lagos.

Ohaeri said: “We are utterly saddened by the activities of bandits in all sections of the country.

“Every day headlines, locally and globally, are replete with gory stories of killings, kidnapping, ritualism, cultism, human trafficking, rape, and all sorts.

“We are deeply dumbfounded by the boldness and brazen manner that these bandits carry out their nefarious activities ranging from intimidation, bombings, suicide attacks, raping of school girls and women to mention, but a few.

“Sadly, these nefarious acts have painted Nigeria in bad light, with serious implications for the much desired national development and growth.’’

PENGASSAN president, therefore, called on the Federal Government and security agencies responsible for securing lives and property to rise up to the occasion by stemming the ugly tide of insecurity.

He said that the mandate given to the government was sacred and required much more than any political affiliation or consideration.

“Government must be seen to be capable, committed and consistent in discharging its responsibilities, the very basic of security of lives and property.

“Nevertheless, we will not renege in doing our best to support the government as we are aware that the success and prosperity of Nigeria is a collective responsibility,’’ he said.

Ohaeri also called on the government to rearrange its security architecture for optimal performance, so that Nigerians could experience the much desired peace and security of lives and property.

Also, Apkoreha said that both unions decided to organise the conference as the first step to raise alarm over insecurity in the country.

According to him, if nothing is done, both unions will review their positions.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Economic and social activities at the Seme-Krake Joint Border between Nigerian and Republic of Benin had come to a  halt, this is because f the Border drills jointly carried out by the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, under the leadership of Hameed Ali,   a retired Army Colonel, in Collaboration with  Mohammad Babadende led  Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, and other security and intelligence agencies including the Nigerian Police Force, NPF.

Described as the busiest Border in the African Continent  because  of the consistent  movement of goods and services across the Border, the situation appear  to have hanged in the last one week  with no sign of improvement. The visit to the Border Community  was very  revealing : the situation  was very worrisome. At the entry  and exit point of the One Stop Joint Border are hundreds of  truck laden goods,  tankers loaded  with Semi processed vegetable oil  and Heavy duty vehicles awaiting to be given the green light by the members of the Ex-Swift Response which is not quick to come.

The situation is so bad as the temporary Park provided by the Seme Customs Authorities  for transit cargoes  has become a shadow of itself  as  scores of casual workers at the park were found  working around for lack of job to do.

Many Agents were found to have abandoned their trucks at the examination bay at the Joint Border. There are  indications that the Seme Command  may have  lost millions of naira  as  Agents have refused to come forward to process their  clients  transit import documents  in order to  take delivery of the cargoes for fear of being harassed on the road by the Joint Border  security Operatives who are  strategically positioned   between the Lagos –Seme road.

Efforts to speak to Abubakar Amajam,  an Assistant Comptroller General  General, ACG, in –charge of the south-west Border drill and Abdullahi Kirawa, a Deputy Comptroller and Head of Operations  on the alleged  delay in allowing transit trucks from Benin terminal, Cotonou, and Bollere port in Republic of Benin to enter the country for the importers  with their Clearing Agents to take  delivery  proved abortive.

Grassroots Publishers  took time  out in an undercover investigation  to observe  what is happening at the  pedestrian  way provided for free movement of  persons to facilitate trade  between  two countries at the Joint Border but found no trace of Cross –Border movement of goods and services since the Border drill started  penultimate  Tuesday evening.

Chief Osita Nwaokolo, a cross border  business man said the consequences of the Border drill  which  had entered the second week  is  very worrisome as dealers on perishable goods like pineapple  are no longer finding  easy to supply their Nigerian Customs who had placed order for it.

An angry  Musa Abdul, a resident of Krake Community had  cried out: what  do we do now.  He noted as a trader, he would have  known  how his money  on other trade goods within the Border Community  if the Nigerian government had given the time lag for the border drill exercise to elapse.

John Ofili, another resident  of the krake Community Community  on the Beninoise side of the Joint Border, who spoke to our reporter  lamented that  ‘’ it is now very difficult to feed at home’’ . Ofili, who had been living  at Krake for the past ten years dealing  on  perishable goods like Pineapple and fresh tomatoes  stopped short at saying that there is hunger in Benin Republic  as petty traders, taxi drivers, market women were all affected.

One of the market women who could not hide her feelings   said the atmosphere in Seme –Krake Joint Border was not different from what is happening  in the Border Communities in in Kano and Jigawa states with Nigeria, where the Border drill Operatives had cut off the sources traded goods supplies to  the land locked country from Nigeria.

The Beninoise  female trader at the Seme  open market   challenged us  to enter the Border Community  in order to actually find out  what is happening:. The Situation is bad. The  beninoise women  at the Border  have every reason to worry  as many of them survive in carrying load for travellers across the Border for a fee.

Some of them also engage in   crossing the Border to buy  foreign par boiled rice for Nigerians for home use. These sources of income had be lost , forcing many of them to be roaming aimlessly on the Busy Seme road. Perhaps, what the Youths of the Border Communities  appear to have lost most is  smuggling of foreign  rice and vegetable oil across the Border , particular, in Ogun state, which  has  several Border Communities with  Benin.

According to the NIS, there are over 80  unapproved routes alone in the state.  Michael Agbara, Comptroller Idiroko Command,  who has been working round the clock to contain the activities of the smugglers may have had a breather with the  coming of the Joint Security Operatives, who has a Presidential mandate to protect Nigerian’s land and maritime Borders.

An elated Joseph Attah, a Deputy Comptroller and Cutoms Spokesperson, said the   the ‘’resolve by Nigerian security agencies  to secure the country’s territorial waters  , particular,  the maritime Borders  against trans- Border  Crimes has started yielding result’’. Attah alluded that that  that the exercise which commenced  in four sectors comprising of the south west, south-south, north west and north east geo-political regions  have  witnessed a number of seizures and arrests.

He noted that as at Tuesday, August 26, 2019, 3,560 ‘’50’’ Bags  of foreign par boiled rice, , 59 bags of NPK, fertilizer,  15 vehicles, , 12  drums  of vegetable oil, four  trucks, 75 gallons of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, Petrol, 29 motorcycles, 68 gallons of  vegetable oil, 10 Jerrycans of PMS had been seized from smugglers.

Unconfirmed report said  most of the seizures were made in the  north west and Ogun state, where smuggling activities , particular, smuggling of rice, were said to have reduced considerably. Amajam, the ACG, over- seeing the Ex-Swift Response in the south west was said to have told those that cares to listen  smuggling activities in the state, which is notorious for rice had  dropped to about 50 percent. But Saki and Iseyi axis in Oyo and Osun states, a source told us a trouble area.

It is not surprising why the Federal Operations Unit, FOU Zone A, under Comptroller  Mohammed Aliyu,  set up Strike Force, Headed by One Ahmed, a Superintend of Customs  and his boys  are giving the rice smugglers in the area  a run  for their money by engaging the services of informants to track them.

It is not surprising why the Command like Seme Command under, Muhammed Uba Garba, the Area Comptroller, are still making rice and vegetable oil  seizures despite the Border drill  joint carried out by  all the security agencies including the Department of Security, DSS, and Directorate of Military Intelligence, DMI.

By: Emeji Noble

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ollowing the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announcement about the  improved security measures in securing the nation’s borders against smuggling, the Customs Area Controller of Seme Area Command, Comptroller Mohammed Uba Garba, has disclosed that goods worth N40milion have been impounded.

He stated that the efforts of the enforcement unit of the Command with regard to the suppression of smuggling is yielding remarkable results.

A statement made available to Grassroots Publishers online by Public Relations Officer, Nuruddeen Abdulllahi on Monday, stated that within the last two weeks of August 2019, the command has arrested offensive items worth approximately N40million.

He explained further that one of the vehicle used for conveying the contrabanded goods is a Toyota Hiace bus (worth N2,907,450) of G- Express Company (with registration number ENU 962 ZK), believed to be coming from Ghana.

According to him, “Upon careful examination at the baggage inward hall, it was discovered to contain five (5) parcels of items suspected to be cannabis sativa concealed in the bus. Consequently, the bus driver, bus boy and the cargo handler were all promptly arrested and detained.

“The command in the spirit of inter-agency cooperation and synergy handed over the said items and the suspects to the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for further prosecution.”

Uba promised that the Nigeria Customs Service will continue to complement the efforts of the NDLEA in its fight to rid the nation of the illicit substances.

While highlighting the importance of making seizures with suspects, the Comptroller added that “we must continue to send the right signal to discourage other people from indulging in the despicable act of smuggling.”

Among other goods impound are 875x50bags of Foreign parboiled rice with DPV of N15,023,750; 20 parcels of cannabis sativa with street value worth of N516,180; 535 bales of used clothes with DPV of N17,259,769; 65 cartons of poultry products with DPV of N948,333.75.

Others are 269 baskets of fresh tomatoes; one basket of fresh peppers; seven sacks of cucumber and pineapples; 16 baskets of fresh okro (all perishable products coming from Benin Rep. which were earnestly auctioned off) with DPV of N367,471; 137×25 liter jerry cans of PMS with DPV of N287,700; 6x50kg of refined sugar with DPV of N147,640.50 and  12x25litres of vegetable oil with DPV of N131,625.90.

The Customs Area Controller reiterated the command’s commitment to the strict implementation of the federal government fiscal policies and the extant laws that govern the day to day operation of the service at the international corridor.

By: Emeji Noble