Following the failure of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to put its Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) into use in the fight against smuggling, its officers were being killed by dare devil smugglers in Lagos and Ogun States.
Recall that Abdulahi Dikko, immediate past Comptroller General of Customs, had in 2014 procured the APCs for Customs officers in Lagos and Ogun to combat smuggling.
But, since 2015, the APCs have been abandoned while Customs officers are losing their lives.
For instance, in April 2018, a customs officer, Rasheed Abdulsalam, attached to the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone A, Lagos was kidnapped after a fierce battle with smugglers.
Some of his colleagues also sustained various degrees of injuries in the bloody anti-smuggling operation that occurred at night around Gateway Hotel, Ota, Ogun State.
In January, 2019, smugglers killed another officer, Hamisu Sani and injured an inspector, Tijani Michael, during an ambush at Asero community in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The operatives attached to the Ogun Area Command of the command were on a routine anti-smuggling patrol in an attempt to secure eight vehicles loaded with smuggled rice.
Another FOU operative, Yakubu Shuaibu, was also shot dead by suspected smugglers in Ogun State in April 2019.
The victim, an Assistant Superintendent of Customs, was killed at Akinrun village, Oja – Odan axis in Yewa North Local Government Area. The smugglers, who ambushed the operatives on patrol, also injured one of them, identified as Joseph.
However, stakeholders have raised alarm over number of Customs officers killed by smugglers in the last four years.
They however wondered why the service would allow anti-smuggling vehicles rot away while Customs officers lose their lives.
“Customs management should be held responsible for the death of officers. We should ask why the APCs are not working. Is it because they were bought by his predecessor? Or is it because they could not maintain them? We need answers,” said Sylvester Nnamdi, a clearing agent.
He stated that the death of officers recorded while facing smugglers would have been reduced if APC are put into effective use.
Joseph Attah, National Public Relations Officer of Customs, said Customs has armoured vehicles and they are being put to use.
He maintained that Customs have been going on patrol with Toyota Hilux buses across the country. “To be Frank, we are making use of the armoured vehicles in our possession.”
