ABUJA: The Customs Area Controller, Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Ikeja, Lagos, Mohammad Garba, has called on the media to assist the service in achieving its mandates of combating smuggling and generating revenue. Mohammad made the call at a media parley on Friday in Lagos. “I appreciate the significance and importance of information and that is why I am soliciting the support of the media to enable us achieve more progress in our duties,” he said. He urged the media not to hesitate in feeding the command with genuine information when they noticed misconduct by officers in the course of their duties. “Our collaboration will enhance our operations because officers alone cannot do job they need the support of everyone. “The management of Customs will continue to enlighten various communities on dangers of smuggling so that they can desist from the illegal business,’’ Mohammed said.
The controller said his administration would work hard in improving the existing structure and would ensure that dedicated and competent officers are redeployed to porous areas where smuggling activities were on the increase. He said that the Federal Government had directed the service to ensure that smuggling activities were brought tot the barest minimum. Mohammed said that the Comptroller-General of Customs, Retired Col. Hameed Ali, had also sensitised officers to have zero tolerance for smuggling to save Nigeria from contaminated goods finding their ways into the country.
