Customs raid of rice market: Traders vow to take protest to Abuja

Rice dealers at the Sango market, where operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service and soldiers impounded sixteen truckloads of rice have expressed their intention to protest naked at the National Assembly in Abuja.

The traders, however, stated that they were still waiting for the Ogun State governor’s reaction.

A trader who identified herself as Olabisi said “We are waiting till Tuesday to hear from the governor. He told us to wait till Tuesday for whatever step that would be taken.“

She added that, “we are ready to stage the same protest at the National Assembly in Abuja if our goods are not returned to us. For many of us, the loss  is too much to bear.”

Another trader simply identified as Alhaja said, “ We have just started. What we did in Abeokuta on Thursday is just the beginning. We are ready to go the Customs office and the House of Representative in Abuja.

“Customs officers collect bribes from smugglers at borders and let go their goods. But they came to town to impound all the rice in our market,” she stated.

Many people have been wrecked. Some of us have just replenished our stock. Some even borrowed money to stock their shops and they took everything away.

“Why did they not come during the day if they knew what they did was legal?  Some of us had money and other valuables in our shops and they took everything away.“

Meanwhile, commercial activities has recommenced at the Sango market as some of the traders were seen displaying bags of rice and other goods in front of their shops.

At Abule Egba, a Lagos suburb and area considered as hot-bed for smuggling in Lagos State, Madam Ronke Akinsanya, who operates a rice shop stated that she and her fellow rice merchants still live under the fear of being harassed by men of the Nigerian Customs.

Speaking with Saturday Tribune on Friday, Mrs Akinsanya, who claimed to have been in the business for more than a decade complained  that men of the Customs service were taking advantage of government’s  new policy on smuggling to fleece innocent traders.

She described their  activities as capable of further worsening the state of the nation’s economy since prices of some of those products labeled as ‘smuggled’ would continue to rise.

In Osun State, the spokesperson of the command declined to comment on the issue, but a top source, who pleaded anonymity  informed Saturday Tribune that “Customs officers are constitutionally empowered to confiscate any products  or items  suspected to be smuggled into the country, even if such items are on display in shops or any other sales outlets.”

“I can tell you that presently, we don’t have such case in our command, but if the need arises for it tomorrow, and there is strong suspicion that there are smuggled items anywhere, our men would go there to effect  their seizure.

“The reported incident in Ogun State can happen anywhere in Nigeria because it is part of our duty to ensure that smuggled or contraband items are not allowed into the country,” she stated.

In Kogi State, the atmosphere in some major rice markets was calm.

Some of the rice sellers who spoke with Saturday Tribune stated that they did not experience any invasion by Customs officers. They, however, explained that the situation might not be unconnected with the fact that many of them were not large scale traders.

The traders, however, noted that the development was gradually affecting the price of rice in the markets as they were faced with a shortage in supply. According to them, module of rice that was sold for N750  now goes for N800 in the market.

At the Oja Ago market in  Ilorin,  Kwara State, where wholesale products  are sold,  Mallam Usman Garba, a trader, said cases of Customs men troubling traders was not common in the state because they actually sell what they produce in the state.

“Kwara is a food basket. Most of what we sell are produced here. We don’t have problem with Customs men.”

A visit to Ogbete main  market, Enugu on Friday for market survey, revealed that many residents of Enugu metropolis now patronise local rice more than  those imported. According to them, the local rice has more nutrient.

At Ogbete market, a rice seller who gave his name as Ibe Okonkwo, said that he decided to have more bags of  local rice in his stall because of the recent change of consumers’ taste, stressing that he was not worried by the new trend as he still makes his profit from the sales of local rice.

Reports from Ebonyi State, one of the rice producing states in the country, also revealed that the prices of local and  imported  rice are the same with that of  Enugu.

It was gathered  that there is a pressure from the state government on the people of the state to abandon  imported rice for  the local one with a view to encouraging local rice producers.

At Abakaliki market, bags of local rice tagged “Abakaliki rice” are seen in many stalls.