By Steve Agbota
The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has expressed sadness over incessant attacks on men and officers of the Nigeria Customs Service by smugglers.
Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service at Kebbi Command were on August 26, 2023, brutally attacked by smugglers resulting in the death of two officers while others escaped death by the whiskers in a similar attack in Katsina.
In a statement issued by the Kebbi Command Public Relations Officer of the Service, Mubarak Mustapha, the attack on the operatives led to the death of two officers.
In a related development, the Public Relations Officer of the Federal Operations Unit, Zone B, Kaduna, Isah Suleiman, said that Customs operatives who were on legitimate patrol duties to Dankama Area of Katsina State were also attacked.
Reacting to the development, APFFLON, through its National President, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, expressed sadness over the incessant attacks on Customs operatives. Ogunojemite urged the Federal Government to deploy technology in the fight against smuggling.
Ogunojemite, during a media chat in Lagos, vehemently condemned what he described as an avoidable loss of officers manning Nigerian borders, saying that if adequate security measures were in place, most of the crimes committed on a daily basis would have been curbed drastically.
“It is quite unfortunate that the Nigeria Customs keep losing its personnel in series of attacks at border points. Men and officers who have families and loved ones like every other Nigerian lose their precious lives as a result of ambushement and armed attacks by smugglers.
“The world has continued to evolve as technology is being deployed in the fight against crimes. The Federal Government should do all it can to stop and minimise this worrisome trend. It’s high time smugglers who brutally attack and kill officers and men of the NCS started facing capital punishment,” he said.
According to him, the Federal Government should invest heavily in technology, the fight against crimes requires a whole lot, and countries are deploying Artificial intelligence (AI) to curb crimes.
“A robust relationship between the Joint Force Border Patrol heads and border communities is very key as intelligence gathering remains one of the most efficient measures in frustrating the activities of smugglers and curbing other security crimes.
“The Management of Nigeria Customs must take its insurance policy very seriously. Personnel who die in active service or sustain physical or bodily injuries at their duty posts should be adequately taken care of. They must not be abandoned to their fate, they must not be deprived of their rights and privileges while their families are left to suffer.
“For one to put his life on the line in service to the motherland is a show of patriotism and absolute loyalty. Those who take up these huge tasks must be adequately equipped and taken care good care of,” he said.