The Nigeria Customs Service is gearing towards inaugurating its two newly-acquired vessels; Customs pride and the Group of Nine.
Controller, Western Marine Command, Umar Yusuf, said in an interview with newsmen in his office in Lagos that the vessels which were acquired in 2015, would serve to boost customs operations at the Eastern and Western Zones.
Yusuf disclosed that the ‘Group of Nine’ which would serve the command, would be maintained for the next one year by the company that brought the vessels in because the vessel must be handled by the right crew. In that regard, he said the marine officers of the command would continuously undergo training by the Nigerian Navy on how to man the vessel effectively. He said that when operational, the vessel would boost the operations of the command in fighting smuggling within its jurisdiction. The controller said that the command had recently repaired 14 of its boats for operations while new infrastructure is being developed to create conducive work environment for officers and men of the command.
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