The challenge of policing Idiroko’s many exit points, by Customs boss

BY UDEME CLEMENT

The fresh impetus by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to stem illegal trades at Idiroko border is yielding positive results in various ways. The Command recently made spectacular seizures of band items including petroleum products and bulldozer excavator. When Sunday Vanguard visited the border, it was observed that specific communities like Ipokia, Ajilete and Owode where the people were volatile, as smuggling was so prevalent, had experienced relative peace in the last seven months. Also, the point where officers check movement of border traders at the major entry line between Nigeria and Benin Republic has been repositioned. Two traditional rulers at Ajilete, who commended the new initiative, attributed the success to constant enlightenment of the people on the dangers of smuggling and in-depth study of the region by the current controller. The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of Ogun Command, Comptroller Prince Ade Dosumu, speaks on the new development, the award on innovation transformation and revenue repackaged control, presented to him by Centre for Development and Movement Strategies in Africa , in conjunction with Freight and Energy Watch.

Though synonymous with various economic activities, Idiroko has porous border points with volatile communities. What steps are you taking in policing the region?
Obviously, the border line between Nigeria and Benin Republic is one strategic business arena that many entrepreneurs cannot do without. One of the challenges is that the border has many exit points but we have also renewed our security network to tackle the issue. Though I am not going to reveal details of our operational strategies but NCS now is intelligence driven. As such, we operate with intelligent network at all times. For instance, we had numerous meetings with traditional rulers and community leaders at the grass root to foster a smooth working relationship with the communities. So, we started by creating an enabling environment free of hostility to enable us work effectively to generate more revenue for government and facilitate trade, which is our primary duty.

We set up Excise Monitoring Team in the Command to ensure total compliance with the unit cost analysis on excise from different factories within the region. So, with the new strategies, we are blocking all lope holes, even as we are getting maximum cooperation from border communities in policing the region. This is evidence in our revenue records for the period under review. For instance, our half year report from January to June 2013 shows that over N2.2billion was realised as revenue against N1.6 recorded same time in the previous year 2012. The anti-smuggling operation is on top gear, as 645 seizures with the Deputy Paid Value (DPV) of over N618million were recorded in the half year 2013, as against 537 seizures with DPV of N297.8million made the same period in 2012.
The progressive difference in DPV of the seizures accounted for the quality seizures made by the Command this year. These seizures include motor vehicles, rice, frozen products, shoes, textile materials, used tyres, apparels, Indian Hemps and several others. Within the same period, we impounded a 40ft container laden with 3,500 cartons of frozen poultry products, a Mercedes Benz 911 lorry laden with 640 cartons of the same frozen products, along Lagos/Shagamu Express.

What uncommon trend of smuggling have you uncovered in the Command?
We recorded spectacular seizures of petroleum products and bulldozer excavator. We arrested one Toyota Land Cruiser Jeep recovered from suspected armed robbers, who after exchanging fire with our operatives escaped into the nearby forest along Ayetoro/Imasayi axis of the Command. Others include 498 cartons of assorted wine, 434 cartons of body cream, 64 cartons of soaps and 57 sacks of Cannabis with estimated monetary value of N3million, which were handed over to National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) officials in Abeokuta .

The Centre for Development and Movement Strategies in Africa in conjunction with Freight and Energy Watch, honoured you with award on innovation transformation and revenue repackaged control, for out standing performance. How do you describe the award?
First of all, we thank the organisation for recognising our efforts in working tirelessly to curtail smuggling in the Command. We attributed the success recorded in the Command to the current Customs management under Comptroller General of Customs, Inde Dikko who provided us with operational tools and the motivation to carry out our statutory duty effectively.

What measures did you put in place to revamp the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in the Command, after being inactive for a long time?

Our target is to ensure that the FTZ is resuscitated to function optimally, in order to achieve the intended purpose for which it was established. When fully utilised, it will boost revenue generation for government to stimulate economic growth and development.

W/Africa leaders insist Mali polls will go ahead on July 28

ABUJA - West African leaders on Thursday insisted Mali's presidential election would be held on July 28 as scheduled despite doubts over whether the crisis-hit nation was ready to organise a vote.

The polls are seen as crucial to re-uniting the country which remains shaken after a March 2012 military coup and a sweeping offensive by Islamist rebels who captured the entire north before being flushed out with the help of French troops.

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara, current chair of the 15-nation West African bloc ECOWAS, said "there are no doubts" the vote would be held on time..

The polls would take place "on the scheduled date," the Ivorian leader said at the close of an ECOWAS summit in Nigeria's capital.

The summit's final communique applauded Malian authorities for "the preparations under way aimed at conducting a free, fair and transparent election."

On Wednesday a presidential challenger who was the chief negotiator in a ceasefire deal with rebels withdrew from the race and filed a court appeal to have the polls postponed.

"The conditions for a fair vote are not in place," Tiebile Drame told journalists in Mali's capital Bamako.

He specifically pointed to problems with a voter registry in the northern town of Kidal, which had been at the centre of the fighting.

Ouattara told AFP that "the elections will be held in Kidal like everywhere else in the country."

Last month, the head of Mali's election commission said it would be "extremely difficult" to organise elections on July 28.

"Nothing is simple in life but we must move forward," Ouattara told AFP.

"I believe the Malian political class, in its entirety, and Malians have the will to hold this election to turn the page," he said.

The March 2012 coup in Mali toppled president Amadou Toumani Toure and created an opening that allowed groups allied to Al-Qaeda to seize the vast desert north.

France, which plans to start withdrawing most of the 4,500 troops it sent to Mali, has been pushing for a quick election in the hopes of restoring order.

The country has been led by a transitional government since the coup.

Mali's acting president Dioncounda Traore, who is not among the 28 candidates vying to be the next head of state, has also acknowledged that the election would not be perfect, "much less in a country in crisis". (AFP)