Nigeria Customs Service Sacks 2,000 Officers For ‘Fraudulent Practices’,
The Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), has said the service had dismissed over 2,000 workers in the last seven years.
Ali, who disclosed this during a media briefing in Abuja, said the service abhors corruption and has zero tolerance for such officers.
He said in addition to losing their jobs, some of those found wanting had been prosecuted and jailed.
He said many of those sacked were found to be shortchanging the NCS in its revenue drive, especially on the duties tax that should accrue to the organisation for imported vehicles.
Ali also said some importers found to have engaged in sharp practices, which had infringed on the activities of the service, had been suspended or prosecuted.
The Customs boss said he was committed to ensuring excellent services but hoped his successor would maintain the standard.
Also, the NCS has said it will need about $3.5 billion to fully automate its operations and limit human interactions at ports and border stations, it was learnt.
Ali announced this at the media briefing coordinated by the Presidential Media Team in Abuja.
The Customs boss said the service would realise at least $17.6 billion after the conclusion of the automation of its operations in the next few years.
He said many of those who have been sacked were found to be shortchanging the NCS in its revenue drive, especially the duties tax that should have been paid to the Federal Government through the service.
Ali explained that the agency’s projection as at the time the N3.019 trillion target was set was based on the assumption that the NCS would start the collection from the beginning of the year.
Ali said the Federal Government’s efforts at keeping the nation’s borders secured are already yielding results.
The Customs boss also raised concern that the Federal agency may face challenges in meeting its N3.019 trillion target for 2022.
He said the establishment of the Joint Border Patrol Team as well as increasing the arsenal of the NCS to fight smuggling and monitor the borders was yielding the desired results.
Ali, who said smugglers were becoming more sophisticated, assured Nigerians that the agency was modifying its operations to respond to the threats.
The Customs boss explained that while the agency has a mandate to generate revenue and facilitate trade, it also ensures the protection of Nigeria’s borders through its modernisation process, called the e-Customs Project, by using technology.
“On the issue of border security, if you have been following the story of how we are working to make sure that we secure the borders; first, you remember that in 2019, we closed the borders. That was done to ensure that illicit items are not brought into this country. Two, to ensure that rice, which is one of the areas we want to make sure that we block, is not also brought into this country.
“Also, to ensure that between us and our neighbouring countries, we uphold the sanctity of the ECOWAS Protocol because those were being breached by our own brothers across the borders and we felt the only way we can send this message to ensure that they align themselves with the protocol is to close our borders and agree.
“And we did that. After about three months of going forth and back, we agreed on the constitution of what we call the Joint Border Patrol Team. Today, we have a conglomeration of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and all other security agencies that have come together under one roof to ensure the security of our borders. That is being done.
“Then, secondly, we’re trying to increase our arsenal with regards to capability to be able to fight smuggling and ensure we monitor our border. For the Customs, the modernisation process that we have has an inbuilt system for border monitoring, which will be both linked to the IT system. Then, today, we are jointly working with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in the geospatial process to make sure that we monitor our borders and ensure effective control.
“We intend to get as many aircraft as possible. We are talking with the Army. We will soon be training our own officers to learn to pilot-drop so that when we are able to pick, not only being able to pick electronically the activities around the border, we should be able to also drop our officers at every point to be able to intercept and interdict the actions of smugglers.”
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