When the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, PhD, appointed him barely six months ago to superintend over the North East command of the Adamawa/ Taraba command, not a few was surprised at how he will change the zone that has gradually become a major smuggling route for prohibited goods across the country’s borders.
He is one of the few anti-smuggling czars that are still around in the Customs service today.
Having gone round through major anti-smuggling commands nationwide, serving at the Idiroko Command, in charge of Operations as well as the then Staff Officer at the flagship Federal Operations Unit (FOU) zone ‘A’, he was credited with the maximum security at the Unit during the ENDSARS protests during which some government agencies were torched.
He was also at the Staff and Command College in Gwagwalada where acquired more expertise on the new Customs evolution worldwide. On his arrival at the Adamawa/Taraba command, Comptroller Muhammed Tako has his job cut out for him, and he has not disappointed.
He has continued to comb his area of jurisdiction, intercepting prohibited and uncustomed goods which were hitherto a major attraction to die-hard smugglers around the Nigeria-Cameroon border corridor. Is Comptroller Tako turning the heat on such devious economic saboteurs in the area? The answer is obviously in the affirmative. Breaking their networks, Tako has. continuously confronted petroleum products smugglers who make fortunes by illegally exporting the product to neighboring Cameroon.
Tako has continued to convene a platform to provide comprehensive update since he mounted the dais on several interceptions of petroleum products (PMS and AGO), second hand clothing, raw donkey skin as well as dried donkey meat, with unregistered medicaments not left out.
In the last six weeks, in the course of discharging its statutory responsibilities to curb smuggling as well as protect the Nigerian economy, it made gigantic inroads to stemming the ugly trend.
Comptroller Tako disclosed yesterday that during separate intelligence-led operations conducted on different locations within its area of responsibility, the command had recorded huge seizures of second hand clothing, several cartons of Viagra (200mg tablets) along Savannah-Numan axis.
Similarly, along Mubi-Sangere axis, no less than 509 pieces of raw complete donkey skin and 460kg of dried donkey meat were seized. Several Jerrycans of premium motor spirit were also intercepted along Likitaba-Gambu axis of Taraba, with several thousands of AGO seized along Mubi-Sahuda axis. Along the Malhia-Belel axis, the command is not resting on its oars as officers intercepted several volumes of PMS
Comptroller Tako, stamping his feet on ground, descended on another network of petroleum thieves along Toungo-Ganye area and the result is bold statement. Altogether, the command seized more than 32,860 litres of PMS alongside 2,800 litres of AGO. Tako disclosed that the duty paid value(DPV) of the entire seizures was almost N100 million.
These seizures were carried out pursuant to the provisions of sections 150, 245 and 246 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023 and schedule 6 (Export Prohibition List) of Common External Tariff (CET). Section 150 of Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023 empowers the service to prevent the illegal exportation of PMS and the raw donkey skin plus the meat out of the Country.
Section 245 gives officers the powers to detain, seize and condemn smuggled goods while section 246 deals with forfeiture of smuggled goods, including Petroleum Products moved contrary to extant laws. Smuggling of petroleum products, wildlife and unregistered pharmaceuticals undermines national security, public health and economic stability.
There will be zero tolerance for such illegal acts. Let me reiterate that, offenders will face seizures of goods, arrest and prosecution without exception.
To the smugglers and the economic saboteurs, I encourage you to forsake illicit trade activities and embrace genuine business as Nigeria Customs service is out to facilitate legitimate trade and ever ready to crackdown smuggling cartels within the confines of the law for the Nation’s economy to have fresh air.
The Command conveys its deepest gratitude to Comptroller General of Customs Bashir, Adewale Adeniyi MFR, PhD, PSC (+) and the entire management team for their visionary governance.
Equally, we acknowledge the continuous effective collaboration of the Sister Security agencies whose synergy enhance our operational success. Distinguished commendation is hereby accorded to the Officers of the Command, most especially the seizing officers for their professionalism, vigilance and dedication to duty. We remain profoundly grateful for the continued synergy between the Service and the Media for their continuous support and objective reportage in promoting transparency and public enlightenment.