Customs clears controversy over demand for End-User Certificate.

Peter Olaniyi

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The Nigeria Customs Service has explained why the service was requesting for the controversial End-User Certificate.

The Public Relations Officer of the Tin Can Island Command of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Uche Ejieseme, while speaking to our correspondent in Lagos recently claimed that the service was only carrying out the instruction of the Presidency through the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).

He stated that the demand for end-user certificate on some items is not out of place owing to the security situation of the country

Ejieseme explained that goods such as chemicals, armoured vehicles, cooking gas, arms among others are put under the end-user certificate list due to the peculiarities of the items which could be used to perpetrate harmful threats to the citizens

According to him  “It is not the Nigerian Customs Service that actually issued end-user certificate. Our job is just to regulate and ensure that any item that requires end-user complies with the extant laws.

“For instance, if you are bringing in an armoured vehicle, the law requires very explicitly that you must come with end-user and to me, I believe that the essence of this is to ensure that these things don’t get to the hands of criminal element to use as shield when penetrating havoc, the same applies to chemicals used for explosive devices.

“So government decided to place the end user to ensure that this kind of products does not get into the hands of criminal elements.

“Government decided to bring the end-user certificate just for security reasons because if they don’t do that, the level of insecurity would have doubled or escalate.

“So if you bring an item that does not require end-user, nobody will ask you for end-user certificate and the issue of insecurity is a global phenomenon,” he said.