The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it has procured and deployed 50 border patrol boats to aid in the fight against smuggling on the nation’s waterways.
Zonal Coordinator, NCS Zone A, Assistant Comptroller General (ACG), Modupe Aremu, said during a working visit to the Western Marine Command (WMC) of Customs that 520 Marine Custom officers would soon be deployed to the Command.
ACG Aremu said that the deployment of the boats and officers are to ensure that the waterways are secured effectively.
“The Comptroller General of Customs is aware that commands are short of officers and due to the ongoing recruitment, soon, officers will be trained for deployment to commands,” she said.
Aremu also called for collaboration in the fight against illicit drugs and said that more results would be achieved with intelligence gathering.
Apart from WMC, she also visited the Kirikiri Light Terminal (KLT) and the Lagos Industrial command.
At the KLT, Aremu emphasized on proper examination, which she noted should be precise and detailed.
Aremu urged the officers to always be conscious of their health and to do regular checkups to ensure that they are fit at all times.
The Ag. Controller of the WMC, Deputy Comptroller Enonche Ochiba, said that the command had a good working relationship with the Nigerian Navy, which always responded when called upon to assist.
He said that officers in the command had some challenges in terms of logistics and accommodation.
Comptroller Hammi Swomen of the KLT, on his part, said that the command had to work hard to secure cargo volume, as they had bad roads to contend with.
He also said that the command did not have a premises of its own, as they were staying on the Nigerian Ports Authority’s premises, and urged the ACG to look into it.