The immediate past Assistant Comptroller General in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspections (E,I&I), Ahmadu Bello Shuaibu, has lauded the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, for what he described as a strategic and well-considered appointment of Deputy Comptroller Olukayode Oladapo Afeni as Customs Area Controller of Ogun I Command, Idiroko.
Shuaibu, in a glowing tribute, said the Comptroller-General has consistently demonstrated an uncanny ability to identify capable hands for sensitive commands, noting that Afeni’s deployment to Idiroko was both timely and tactical. According to him, the new Area Controller is “a round peg in a round hole.”
Recalling their years of professional collaboration, Shuaibu disclosed that Afeni was a pivotal force during his tenure as Coordinator of the Comptroller-General’s Strike Force. “We did it together; nothing is hidden from him,” he said, underscoring Afeni’s deep operational knowledge and institutional memory.
He further revealed that Afeni worked closely with him while he headed the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone B, Kaduna, where anti-smuggling operations demanded precision, discipline and strategic coordination. “He knows anti-smuggling inside-out,” Shuaibu affirmed.
Describing Afeni as an officer who has the anti-smuggling rule book at his fingertips, the retired ACG maintained that experience, intelligence and calm calculation remain indispensable tools in border enforcement, particularly at a volatile corridor like Idiroko.
Shuaibu also revisited the core enforcement doctrine he championed while in service, that no anti-smuggling operation should come at the cost of an officer’s life. According to him, operational success must never be measured in casualties. “No level of enforcement justifies losing an officer or any life,” he stressed.
Drawing from his experience as a former Area Controller of the Idiroko Command, he reiterated that enforcement must be intelligence-driven rather than reactionary. His operational model, he explained, focused on allowing smugglers to move contraband to warehouses before strategic interception and evacuation under controlled conditions, thereby reducing violent confrontation.
He noted that many foot soldiers in rice smuggling rings are mere couriers often under the influence of illicit substances, stressing that the real targets should be the sponsors and financiers. However, he drew a clear red line on arms and drug trafficking, insisting on zero tolerance and uncompromising enforcement against such threats.
Shuaibu described Afeni’s appointment as a bold step that could eventually position him for even larger responsibilities within the Lagos hub, citing his familiarity with terminal operations from their time in the Strike Force covering the Lagos zone.
Reflecting on his final assignment as ACG Enforcement, Shuaibu disclosed that he chaired a Special Committee that reviewed cases of dismissed or indefinitely suspended officers, resulting in the recall of 53 officers or conversion of their dismissal to retirement, subject to approval by the Comptroller-General. Now retired, he said he feels fulfilled and grateful for the opportunity to serve, commending Adeniyi for steering the Service on what he termed a steady path of institutional growth.