Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
The Area Controller of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Kwara State Command, Mr. Kehinde Ilesanmi, yesterday said it has concluded plan to partner the Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) in tackling corruption and the rising tide of smuggling in the area.
Ilesanmi stated this in Ilorin, the state capital, during a courtesy call on the Ilorin Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Michael Nzekwe, at the commission’s office in Ilorin.
Ilesanmi, who assumed duty as the Customs Area Controller of the state Command in January 2023, highlighted some of the functions of the service to include revenue collection, facilitation of trade and suppression of smuggling.
He said upon resumption, the Kwara State border was under lock due its porous environment, while Idiroko, Katsina and Kebbi States borders that were closed alongside with it had been reopened.
The Customs Area Controller said upon resumption of duty, he took up the gauntlet by going after the perpetrators with a view to bringing them to justice.
He said over N3.5billion revenue had been collected as revenue for the government by his men, while also making 23 seizures with the duty value of each seizure worth more than N30million.
According to him, the visit was basically to strengthen the existing ties between his agency and EFCC in ensuring that both agencies deliver on its mandate.
The Customs boss praised the efforts of the Ilorin Zonal Command of the EFCC, especially its bold step in checking the activities of illegal miners in the state as well as combating the rising tide of cybercrime among the youths.
Responding, Nzekwe expressed appreciation to Ilesanmi and his entourage for the visit, and expressed the hope that stronger inter-agency collaboration and support between the two agencies would be entrenched.
“We are delighted to have a worthy partner like the Nigeria Customs Service to cooperate with us in the fight against corruption. Together, we shall make Nigeria better,” he said.
Nzekwe commended the Customs zonzl boss over the visible improvement in revenue collection by his officers, noting that the cooperation between the two agencies had in no small measure helped in checking corruption and smuggling of counterfeit financial instruments.
Like the Customs Area Controller, Nzekwe recalled some of his landmark achievements within the last one year of his deployment to Ilorin Zonal Command of the EFCC as zonal commander.
He said the illegal mining activities and non-payment of royalties by unlicenced operators, which pervaded the state had greatly been checkmated through the intervention of the EFCC.
According to him, the mineral resources in Kwara State, if properly harnessed, are enough to turn the state into “small London.”
While stressing the importance of synergy among agencies of government, Nzekwe said: “In synergy, we are sending strong signals to corrupt elements and all economic saboteurs that they now face a more difficult task to evade payment of customs duty or royalties or smuggling of prohibited goods through our borders.”
Last modified: April 7, 2023
