From left: Customs Area Controller, Seme Border Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi Mni, Chairman, Senate ad-hoc Committee on Customs and Excise, Senator Francis Ade Fadahunsi and Chairman, Badagry South LCDA during visit of the committee to the command, Tuesday.

The Senate ad-hoc Committee on Customs and Excise has commended the Seme Border Command of the Nigeria Customs Service over its robust engagement with the relevant stakeholders including the border communities.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Francis Ade Fadahunsi MFR, who gave the commendation, spoke at an enlarged stakeholders’ forum organised by the Seme Customs Command at the instance of the committee as part of its oversight functions in response to an earlier complaint of incessant cases of rifts between some commands and their host communities.

Comptroller Nnadi conducts the committee members round the border facility.

The event was attended by traditional rulers, community leaders of the various border communities, heads of security agencies operating at the border, political leaders, freight forwarders, representatives from the Badagry Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture BACCIMA and several other stakeholders within the supply chain.

Senator Fadahunsi, a retired Assistant Comptroller General ACG of the service, said it was evident from comments and interactions at the forum, which lasted for over two hours that there is a robust and healthy relationship between the security agencies led by the Seme Customs Command and the entire border communities.

Speaking earlier, Senator Fadahunsi told the gathering that there were three petitions before the Senate, the country’s upper legislative chambers, alleging incessant fracas and killings of residents of the border communities by the security agencies, especially Customs, which necessitated the leadership of the Senate to mandate the ad-hoc committee to cut short its recess to embark on the investigations.

“The reason why we are here, is in connection with three petitions to the Senate not recently though, over allegations of incessant sporadic shootings, killings at the borders led by Customs. The Rules of Engagement ROE, are there, there are operational codes of ethics, among several other books of instruments.

“Two Senators from Katsina State have reported the ordeals of some residents of the border towns in the area in the hands of security agencies, especially Customs over the smuggling of rice, refined petroleum products and used vehicles, which the Federal Government had banned its importation through the land borders.

“But having listened to the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Dera Nnadi Mni, the traditional rulers, youth leaders of the border communities, the chairman of the Badagry South LCDA and other security agencies and stakeholders, we have no doubt in our minds as a committee that there are no such rifts, at least in the recent past”, Senator Fadahunsi said.

He however commended the Seme Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Nnadi for maintaining a superlative performance at the command both in terms of the core mandate and duties of the service and stakeholders’ relationship, which he described as crucial to revenue generation and suppression of smuggling, saying that the testimonies by the various traditional rulers on the various Corporate Social Responsibility CSR programmes for the youths and other segments of the border communities are quite commendable and worthy of emulation.

The CAC, who did a 30-minute slide presentation on operational and CSR activities at the command between January-June, 2023, disclosed that out of the annual revenue target of N1.96billion for the 2023 fiscal year, the command has already collected N1.6billion as at July, which represents 72per cent increase compared to the N884million collected in the comparative period of 2022.

He also reeled out some of the CSR initiatives by the command for the host communities, which include the renovation of the Badagry General Hospital and donation of drugs and other healthcare materials by the Customs Officers Wives Association, donation of football jerseys and other sports materials to various youth groups within the border communities, among several others.

On the challenges confronting the command, the CAC raised the alarm over impending sea surge, which has almost swept one of the buildings at the command’s residential area and might sack the entire border control facility if urgent steps were not taken to curb the menace.

He also expressed concerns over very public power supply at the border, disclosing that he had written the Managing Director, Eko Electricity Distribution Company EKEDC, saying the company had only supplied public power to the area twice since January, 2023. This development, according to him, is telling seriously on the operational cost of the command, given the recent hike in the pump price of petroleum products.

Nnadi assured that he would continue to maintain a cordial working relationship with all the sister security agencies for the common good of Nigeria on the one hand, and the host border communities with a view to ensuring peace and cordial and harmonious relation, which would also help the command in no small measures in achieving the command’s mission and vision at all times.