Ogun customs debunks allegation of allowing smuggling of arms, ammunition

Laide Raheem, Abeokuta

Students under the aegis of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Ogun Joint Campus Committee National Association of University Students (NAUS) and National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS), had on Thursday, at a press conference, blamed the influx of small arms and ammunition into Nigeria via Ogun on the ineptitude of the state command of the NCS.

According to the students, men and officers of the command were becoming a toothless dog in fighting smuggling activities in the state.

But in a statement signed by Hammed Bukoye Oloyede, the Public Relations Officer of Ogun 1 Area Command on behalf of Customs Area Controller, Chado Kolo, on Friday, described the allegation levelled by the students  as not only untrue, but malicious.

Oloyede said that the Command would not have bothered to respond to the lies, but for the damage the  “lies” could do if not debunked.

According to the statement, the “unfounded lies could not only be misleading but are likely to create unnecessary tension in Ogun State and the country”.

“The Command wishes to categorically debunk the allegation of arms importation through Ogun state and hereby states that, there has never be a time where arms and ammunition are allowed to be smuggled into the country through Ogun state and it will not be allowed to be smuggled in whatever form.

“The Command had since fortified the numerous illegal routes through which contrabands are smuggled into the country with aggressive patrols and had stepped up its anti-smuggling  operations in the state to checkmate the nefarious activities of these enemies of the state.

“Other allegation of smuggling activities taking place during the daytime is only in the imagination of the fabricator of that story. The tightened security architecture in the state today by customs and other security agencies will not permit smuggling of contrabands and other prohibited items at night time not to talk of during the day.

“It is on record that since the resumption of the present Area Controller, Peter Kolo, the record of our achievements in the command in both areas of revenue generation and anti-smuggling activities are being given out to the media on monthly basis in order for the public to be informed of our activities.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the command recorded over One Thousand, five hundred seizures of various contrabands and prohibited items ranging from foreign parboiled rice, foreign used vehicles, used shoes and clothes, tomato paste, sativa (Marijuana), and petroleum products made for export since the beginning of the year. For instance seizures of Forty-six thousand, four hundred and ninety one (46,491) bags of foreign parboiled rice were made in the Command between the moths of January 2021 to August 2021. About 20 suspects are currently undergoing trial for various Smuggling offenses in the Federal High Court, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

“In as much as the command does not want to join issues with the so-called students, their sponsors and collaborators we want to advise them to focus and concentrate on their studies and school activities so that they graduate in record time and be better citizens tomorrow, instead of offering and allowing themselves to be used as tools for blackmail of an individual and government institution. The service wishes to implore them to channel their energy towards educating their fellow members of various communities on dangers inherent in smuggling activities.

“Where were the authors of this malicious publication when officers and men of the Customs Service were being daily attacked with AK47 riffles, locally produced guns, pistols and other dangerous weapons with charms by dare devil smugglers who are their brothers and sisters, cousins and uncles in the state? In most of these attacks, officers are injured, killed and government properties destroyed (Vehicles and buildings set ablaze). What did they do and what did they say? These are the same elements and groups that carried placards and demonstrated to the Government House and State House of Assembly in December, 2020, alleging incessant killings of their people by customs. What a hypocrisy!

“Let the general public know that these allegations are baseless, unfounded, mischievous, dangerously misleading and aimed at causing distraction to our operations and security architecture in Ogun State and the country, and should therefore be disregarded. We are focused in our anti-smuggling duties and remained resolute to continue with our onslaught on these enemies of the state”. The statement concluded.