The Seme Area command of the Nigeria Customs Service said it has arrested and handed over two suspects Joachim Iheagwu and Chukwunonye Onu and an exhibit of 80,845,000 CFA to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) Lagos office.
The command also handed over three illegal immigrants to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for further investigation and prosecution.
Area Controller of the command, Comptroller Victor Dimka while handing over the suspects, warned those involved in illegal activities and cross border vices to stay away from Seme border or risk being arrested and prosecuted as they will not go undetected regardless of their antics.
He noted that the alertness of his officers and men in patrolling the land border led to the arrest of the illegal immigrant through the waterways.
He reemphasised that the doggedness of officers and men of the Command in safe guarding the border is manifesting in many areas of the anti-smuggling operations.
“Our resolve to sanitise Seme land border from all miscreants and unscrupulous element is paying off as we engage the stakeholders for mutual understanding through the platform of Customs Community Consultative Forum and the Joint Border Security Meeting on a monthly basis,” he said.
Meanwhile, the command said it generated the sum of N773million as revenue in the month of February; 2017 in addition to 61 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N62.6million within the period under review.
A statement by the command’s spokesman, Taupen Salenyang said five suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure while one was has been convicted.
Commenting on the revenue figure, Dimka said that all hands must be on deck to realize a higher amount in the months ahead considering the fact that the last year target for the command is being maintained.
He said with the upward reviewed values of imported goods to meet the current realities, the additional value should be able to cover the shortfall that is evident with the ban on importation of vehicles through the land borders.
While addressing his unit heads, Dimka enjoined them to add value in all the core functions of the service they are expected to execute. He outlined areas of commitment that are of utmost priority which he advice should be viewed with every degree of seriousness.
These includes among others promptly and timely feedback to his office of treated alerts triggered by the system, professional conduct in the discharge of assigned responsibilities and maintaining discipline at all levels, border security and blockage of all illegal route, joint operations with all the complimentary team at the command.
He re-iterated that recalcitrant officers who are adamant to corrective measures must be identified and punish accordingly, while deserving and hardworking officers who excel in their assigned task will be rewarded.
He further advised all Unit heads to ensure adequate supervision of their subordinates in order to facilitate legitimate trade across the frontier while keeping a healthy relationship with the critical stakeholders.
The customs boss while congratulating and decorating the recently promoted junior officers, charged them to live up to the responsibility of the new rank bestowed on them saying that to whom much is given, much is expected.
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