Customs debunks belief over use of ‘Juju’ to arrest smugglers

By ZION Olalekan

The Nigeria Customs Service has dispelled the widely-held notion of the use of unorthodox method by its officers to track down dare-devil smugglers.

The agency claimed that rather that resorting to the use of “Juju” to incapacitate and over-power smugglers, its men instead use more of their minds as weapon of intelligence. The service has also urged Nigerian students to always report suspicious smuggling activities happening around them to the Customs service.

Zonal Coordinator Zone ‘A’ of Customs, Assistant Comptroller General, Kaycee Ekekezie gave the charge while addressing students of Yaba College of Technology at a public event in Lagos yesterday.

Ekekezie said that the service has put various measures in place to check smuggling, some of which include setting up Western and EasternMarine commands, setting up of special anti-smuggling squares on the land and surveillance teams patrolling the waterways.

Speaking at the programme tagged ‘Entrepreneurship Development Programme and Anti-Smuggling Sensitization Workshop’, the Zonal Coordinator represented by Deputy Comptroller Dera Nnadi explained that 70% of Customs revenue is generated from Zone A’ of the service.

He took the opportunity to correct erroneous impressions in the minds of the students saying that Customs officers do not use charms in chasing smugglers,

He said “Back in those days, they say Customs officers use juju (charm) but it’s not true, what we use is common sense”.

On the recent killing of a traveller by Customs at Sagamu, he said that by virtue of section 158 of the Customs and Excise Management Act, Customs officers can operate anywhere.

According to him, Customs is the only security agency in the world that can come to your personal house and search it without any warrant.

“Most of us buy cars and ask why should customs stop me and request for my Customs paper, it is obligatory for you to pay tax on that car because it is the money generated that government uses to equip the military and the police.

“Whenever you encounter a smuggler, you have a responsibility to inform Customs because the money Customs would collect from that smuggler will go a long way in providing other services including for Yaba Tech.

“Our tax does not stop on anything coming in from the border, even when you manufacture anything inside factories; we collect excise tax from them.

“In those days, a custom officer is posted to factories where they produce drinks and they collect tax, but even though we don’t collect tax on them again, you must get license from Customs before establishing your factory”.

He told the gathered students that Customs does not only collect tax, it is also about facilitation of trade.

“As students, you have relations, you have parents and friends and people you patronize, whenever you see anything suspicious and smuggling is going on, you owe it a duty to inform Nigeria Customs Service”

Also speaking, Officer in charge of operations of Western Marine Command of Customs, CSC Samuel Ariyibi said that Customs is not interested in killing legitimate business but that it is all about facilitation of trade and implement government fiscal policies.

Speaking he said “Why do people smuggle? They smuggle because of the scarcity of quality goods produced locally, preference for imported goods, desire to evade payment of duty, high taste for foreign goods and determination to get rich quick”.