The Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Services (NSC), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) has raised alarm over the increasing activities of smugglers in the country. He disclosed that over 91 percent of importers in the country engage in smuggling activities thereby denying the country of huge revenue. Ali made this known on Saturday while speaking at the presentation of a book, ‘Appraisal of the Crime of Smuggling In Nigeria’, authored by an Assistant Comptroller of the Service, Musa Omale.
He stated that the situation remained one of the serious challenges confronting the NCS but assured that his men had been directed to redouble efforts in tracking down these saboteurs. He lamented that recently, in a bid to track down some Smugglers, five of his officers were gunned down.
The CG further said he would continue to provide protective measures to personnel and equip them with relevant weapons to clamp down on the economic saboteurs. He described the book as apt and timely, noting that it addressed, to a large extent, the dangers of smuggling.
"This book is apt because it is timely; it is timely in the sense that it has captured everything about smuggling, the ills of smuggling, the laws governing our own mandate and the laws governing smuggling. So, it is a must-read for the members of the public and it is going to help us in enlightening the general public to understand really the implication of smuggling.
“We have come to understand that Nigerians, especially those living in the border community, do not even understand that smuggling is a crime. And this book brought out those facts and put them on the table. So it is my belief that this book is a bestseller. I enjoin people to read it because that will give them the perspective of what smuggling is, and the ills of smuggling, and need to stop smuggling,” he added.
