SEME CUSTOMS COMMAND- TRANSIT CARGO IMPORTERS BECOME TRADE COMPLIANT AS THERE WILL BE MORE TROUBLES FOR VIP PETROL SMUGGLERS
When Hameed Ali, a retired Army Colonel and Comptroller General, Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, redeployed Comptroller Mohammed Bello Jibo, from Bauchi-Gombe Command towards the tail end of 2020, to seme Command as the new Area Comptroller, VIP, Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popular, Petrol smugglers, knew that they were in for trouble. This is because of Jibo’s ‘’no compromise policy’’.
The trouble for the VIP, petrol smugglers, appear to became more pronounced when Dankingari Abuakar, an Assistant Comptroller and a once-time Patrol Team Leader was said to have been a torn in the flesh of Foreign rice, vehicle and Textile smugglers was appointed as the Command Operations Team Leader by the Seme Command Area Controller.
The Lanky senior officer and his men were said to have continued to make things difficult for the VIP petrol smugglers, believed to be highly connected in in political circles and the Nigerian National Ptroleum Corporation, now Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, with the signing of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIC, passed by the National Assembly into Law by the Katsina state born Nigerian President into Law, in 2021.
The seizure of 3,998 Jerrycans of 30 litres each of petrol, on Monday, August 15, 2022, equivalent of 119,940 litres or four Tankers load of petrol of 33,000 litres each,valued at about N30million, bear eloquent testimony to the Command efforts ‘’to frustrate the VIP petrol smugglers around he Seme Jurisdictions and Badagry axis’’ in the recent time.
Unconfirmed reports said the 3,998, Jerry cans of Petrol of 30 litres each which were said to have been sourced from different filling stations were stockpiled at an undisclosed filling station along a Badagry Beach in order to facilitate its evacuation to the Beach awaiting for the arrival of the big Craft from Benin Republic that will lift it at an agreed date.
It was learnt that Steve Okonma, a Deputy Comptroller, overseeing the Seme Command’s outstation at Owode , another land border community between Nigeria and the neighbouring West African country of Benin , had his officers, had kept a close tab on the three Jetties at around the outstation and was getting feedback from informants on the VIP smugglers next move.
Abdulahi Hussain a Superintendent and Seme Command spokesperson reportedly had said that when the information out leaked that over three thousand Jerry cans of Petrol of 30Kg each, had been stockpiled at a filling station along a Badagry Beach preparatory to be smuggled into the Beninois market, AC Abubakar , o and his officers, with the support of the Customs Intelligence , CIU, had mounted a close surveillance at the Badagry filling station and the Beach that was expected to be used to carry out the illegal transactions.
Indeed, the VIP petrol smugglers may have played into the hands of AC. Abubakar‘s men and the CIU, personnel when they started moving the Jerry cans of Petrol to the Badagry beach, forcing the Operation Team to go back to the drawing board to plan their next move .
The Operation Team officers and the CIU, personnel, may have decided to lie low to enable the high profile smugglers to complete removing all the 3,988 of Jerry cans of petrol of 30litres each to the Beach before striking. They got it right.
A one-time, Deputy Comptroller, in-charge of the Seme Command Enforcement Unit, had revealed that there are 16 Creeks, beaches and watersides around the Seme and Badagry axis that were used at different times by the VIP smugglers, to carry out their nefarious activities.
An insider informed The Forward News Media that in the recent operations, Kehinde Husain Ejibuno, a Deputy Comptroller, who incidentally is the acting Controller , Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone A, who was to have also got wind of the stock piled Jerry cans of petrol of 30Kg each at a filling station along a Badagry Beach to be smuggled to Benin Republic was said to have dispatched a Team from the Command Headquarters at Ikeja to the location to take over the operations and ensure that that all the Kegs of Petrol were transferred to the Government warehouse , Ikeja, for documentation.
A source confirmed that when the FOU, Team, saw that the Seme Command, Operations Team were fully in control of the situation they were forced to make a U-turn at the instance of the Ejibuno, the Command acting Comptroller. A smiliar incident was said to have played out in 2021, when Usman Yahaya, a Deputy Comptroller, was the acting Comptroller, FOU, Zone A.
Acting on the instructions of the acting Comptroller, the Command officers had evacuated 2000 Jerry cans of the intercepted 3,1050 Jerry cans of Petrol of 30 Litres each of Petrol to the Government ware House, Ikeja, out of the 3, 150, that was said to have been intercepted, leaving 1050 for the Seme Command to do with.
An eyewitness account had confirmed that Seme Command masterminded the seizure of 3,150 Jerry cans of 30 litres each of petrol. The former FOU Zone A, acting Comptroller, who was said to have been decorated with the rank of Comptroller on retirement , though backdated, may have taken the bold initiative to give the impression that the Command masterminded the seizure of the hundreds of Jerry cans of Petrol at the Sme Jurisdictions. He may have expected that the Customs Headquarters would query Comptroller Jibo over the alleged FOU petrol seizure in his area of Jurisdiction but got it wrong.
On the recent 3,998, Jerry cans of petrol of 30 litres each, an appreciative Comptroller Jibo had commended the officers for ‘’the giant strides achieved’’, reiterating ‘’the Management’s commitment to continue ‘’to make smuggling activities around the Seme and Badagry axis unattractive’’.
The Customs Comptroller may have sent a message to the unrepentant, VIP petrol smugglers, to embrace Legitimate trade or ‘’they will continue to be frustrated until smuggling is completely suppressed to the barest minimum in all nooks and crannies of the Seme jurisdictions’’.
He has attributed the success that was achieved by the Command in its anti-smuggling operations between December, 021 and now, ‘’to the provisions of the necessary working tools to the Command by Ali’’, the Customs Comptroller General which had’’ motivated the officers to take the anti-smuggling war to a new height in the Command.
Apealing to Nigerians ‘’to provide useful and timely information to assist the Command in its anti-smuggling operations,he noted that this is the only way ‘’to curtail the smuggling of petrol, particular, from Nigeria to the Beninois market and foreign rice and vehicles,from the Benin into the Nigerian market.. Recall that President Muammadu Buhari had on January 1st, 2017, banned the importation of Foreign rice and vehicles through the Land order into the Nigerian market.
Comptroller Jibo, who was said to have to have carved a niche for himself as a no nonsense anti-smuggling officer at Bauch-Gombe Command, was said to have enjoined ‘’the host communities and the security agencies at the Seme Joint Border Community and its environs to shun all overtures by smugglers who may want to influence them to aid and abet their illegal activities.
Recall, that in January, 2022 the Seme Command intercepted 3050 Jerry cans of PMS, equivalent of 30,150 litres of petrol, but was allowed by the FOU, Zone to evacuate only 1050, to its premises, while evacuation 2,000 Jerry Cans of the Jerry cans of petrol to the Government warehouse , Ikeja. The Duty Paid Value, DPV, of the intercepted 1,050, Jerry cans of petrol, after a similar seizure was made along the Creeks with Badagry and Seme Jurisdictions at the tail end of December , 2021 was put at about N7 million 2022 .
Many believe that the December, 2021, seizure of PMS, around the Seme Jurisdictions may have opened the doorway for the Command to make more Jerry cans of petrol in subsequent months as it beamed its searchlight on the Creeks, Beaches and watersides.
Note that the Command intercepted in April, 2022, the Seme Command, had impounded 1,300 Jerry cans of Petrol, of 30 litres each of a with a Duty Paid Value, DPV of about N12.54 million while in in June, the Command, also intercepted 10,865 Jerry cans of petrol of 30 litres each of Petrol, with a Duty Paid Value of N65.6 million.
There is no gain saying the fact that between December, 2021 and now, Comptroller Jibo could beat his chest that Seme Command had made over seven major seizures of PMS, along the Creeks, Beaches, and watersides in Badagry and Seme axis worth millions of naira, that should gladden the heart of the Customs Comptroller general.
In a related development, Fraudulent traders at the Seme Border who were used to improper documentation in order to shortchange the government in payment of duty appear to have embraced the campaign of the Seme Area Controller to do the right thing to avoid losing the goods to the government.
Many believe that if the volume of cargoes that passes Apapa, Tin Can Island, Port Multi-services Terminal Limited,PTML, or Port Harcourt Area II, Onne , Commands, could be handled at the Seme Command, its story would be different.
