A vehicle importer and a clearing agent, Mr. Augustine Ahamefule has applauded the efforts of the Nigeria Customs service (NCS) in the fight against car smuggling especially through land borders.
In a chat with Shipping Position Daily last week, he said that although car smuggling is not what can stop completely, but he acknowledged that the act has drastically reduced.
According to him, “It has reduced to the barest level; it is not something that you can say has been totally stopped. If eventually they manage to bring it in getting it into customs system is very difficult for them now because of the ban. Some of them have been discouraged from smuggling in vehicles from Cotonou. Right here now, there is a bit of improvement in terms of customs meeting up to the target that was given to them. Here in PTML, they have been meeting their target in checkmating smuggling; they have checkmated smuggling to a level but not completely stopping it”.
He also accused Nigerian security personnel especially, the Nigerian Police and the Military of aiding smugglers in carrying out their illegal business by escorting them.
He said: “On the issue of a military person killing an officer that wanted to intercept a smuggled vehicle, you know that such things happen most times but from the look of things you will know that justice will take its cause, nobody is more than the government. You cannot say that smuggling has not been going on there but this one just happened”
“The reason people use uniform men a lot to convey smuggled vehicles mostly is that they are the only people you can use. No other person can do that, they are the only people that can smuggle those cars here in Nigeria, even police is involved too. They know all these smugglers, but as I said it is not business as usual it has been checkmated to the barest minimum”
He called on the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of Army Staff to check if these officers that are involved in this illegal business are dismissed or serving officers.
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