By Ifeyinwa Obi

THE Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) Sokoto Command, has generated more than N268 million as revenue from January till date. It has also arrested seven suspected smugglers and made 50 seizures, which included drugs, rice, mosquito coil, vehicles, and cigarette worth N56 million within the same period.

The Customs Area Controller (CAC) Sokoto Command, Comptroller Bamidele Akande, made this disclosure during a chat with journalists in his office in Sokoto.

He said the command which comprises Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states, was given a target of N920 million this year.

Akande revealed that the command collected a whopping N65 million last month, which was the first time in the history of the command that such sum would be realised in a single month.

“As you are aware, the command made a record breaking collection of N65 million in April 2013. This is the first time in the history of the command that such sum was realised in a single month. Thus, we are making strenuous effort to further improve on this  to meet and even surpass our revenue target for the year”, he said.

Increase in revenue
The Customs chief attributed the increase in revenue generated by the command this year to an appreciable increase in the number of importers of used cars that willingly came to pay duty during the period under review.

He explained that the tremendous improvement was also as a result of serious commitment in reaching out to the general public on the need to pay duty on their imported used cars and strategies put in place to suppress smuggling.

The CAC revealed that part of the items seized from smugglers included 25 vehicles, 386 bags of rice and 590 rolls of cigarette. Others were 288 cartons of Tramol capsules, 146 cartons of Diarrhoea capsules, 149 pieces of jack knives, and 10 cartons of mosquito coil, among others.

He maintained that it was no longer business as usual, as the officers have intensified patrol at the border towns and villages in the zone. He, however, noted the porous borders and difficult terrain, which require specialised vehicles to patrol the border communities effectively.

“The borders are not only porous but also wide. This is besides the difficult terrain which makes it difficult to conduct patrol. But we are doing our best to tackle the menace of smuggling in the area”, Akande said.

He added that the command was committed to enhancing trade facilitation in the nation’s quest to attain vision 2020 and would redouble efforts in combating smuggling in the zone. He emphasised that the seven suspects arrested by the command would be charged to court shortly.

Akande called on the public to continue to assist men and officers of the command by providing useful information that would assist officers in curbing smuggling in the area.