ABUJA: Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok-Ekwe Ibas has drawn the attention of the Nigeria Customs Service to the activities of alleged arms smugglers at the Tongue Island, off the coast of the Nigeria, Benin republic border.
Ibas made this known at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja when he received the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd) on a courtesy visit.
“I want to call your attention to an Island somewhere off the coast of Badagry which is just by the Nigeria, Republic of Benin border at the Tongue Island in Badagry,” Ibas said.
“I implore you to consider that Island as a strategic Island to Nigeria and perhaps to consider emplacing your men there, because I know that that is one area that smuggling of small arms can thrive in,” he explained.
Ibas added that: “The challenges of these nation can only be addressed if all of us come together and these is a good beginning for you, because we want to believe that the bulk of the weapons that come into this country come in through our porous borders which we need to collectively police.”
The Naval chief also expressed the commitment of the Nigeria Navy to support the Customs in training its personnel in boat handling and maintenance of its newly acquired patrol boats.
He also stated the need to strengthen intelligence sharing between the Services, noting that there are over 3000 creeks and estuaries and the navy could not be in all the creeks at all the times.
Ibas also called for a review of the nation’s importation policy so as to minimize the loss in revenue by diversion of some goods to other countries.
In his remarks the Comptroller General of Customs Hameed Ali called for cooperation between the Navy and Customs in training and maintaining customs patrol boats for effective policing of the nation’s waterways to check smuggling.
Ali said as a major revenue collector the customs needs to facilitate trade to meet its targets, which means the nation’s water ways must be accessible to ships and traders who want to bring in goods.
He also noted that: “our ports generates about N1 billion to N1.5 billion a day, so any day they say public holiday that N1.5 billion is gone.”
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