ABUJA: John Iwori reasons that a lot more needs to be done by the relevant authorities to effectively check activities of smugglers on Nigerian waterways.
In the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), two commands are devoted to the curtailment of smuggling in Nigeria waterways. They are the Eastern Marine Command (EMC) and Western Marine Command (WMC). While the former has its operational base in the Rivers State capital, Port Harcourt, the latter has its fulcrum of operations in Nigeria’s economic nerve centre, Lagos. While other commands in collaboration with the Federal Operations Units (FOUs) battle smugglers on land, the EMC and WMC of the NCS are charged with the responsibility of policing the waterways to keep criminals, especially smugglers of contraband at bay.
Contraband refers to goods listed in the Export Prohibition List (EPL) and the Import Prohibition List (IPL). The Federal Government of Nigeria selects the items in EPL and IPL based on its fiscal policies as stipulated in its annual budget. This is the basis for the periodic changes in the number of items in EPL and IPL. While the Federal Ministry of Finance keeps the EPL and the IPL, the responsibility of the ensuring that they are strictly implemented are in the hands of the Customs High Command.
