ALL over the world, it is only the Nigeria Customs Service that will go round our markets at midnight to raid traders’ shops and cart away their goods and cash without any court order to do so. To be honest, this is reprehensible and totally unacceptable. The way Customs official conducted themselves to invade Ibadan rice traders shop at midnight on March 31, 2021, raided over 88 shops and carted away the goods of market women calls for general overhauling of the Customs and Excise management Act 158 and 645 by National Assembly.
This is not the first time Customs officials will be inflicting pains on the Nigerian SouthWest rice traders by raiding their shops at midnight. The Customs stormed Sango Ota Motor Park at midnight on February 22, 2017 to raid over 60 shops and carted away the goods.
I find it embarrassing and it is an embarrassment to this nation that smugglers easily escape from our borders with many bags of rice and kegs of vegetable oil when Customs official are on duty. And Customs will now loot shops like thieves to steal goods. Where were they when those goods were passing through the borders?
It is in view of this that I enjoin the distinguished senators representing Oyo State to come to the aid of our market people by raising this issue of Customs invading Ibadan rice traders shop on the floor of the Senate without further delay. I will also send a letter to the Senate president If our senators representing us in Oyo State do not do anything about this. Enough is enough. We must do everything within our power to stop Customs from inflicting pains on our people unnecessarily.
It was equally alleged that the Customs official stole traders’ money. These officers must be probed. The Customs officers should arrest smugglers instead of creating problems for market women. Were these officers asleep when the smugglers entered Nigeria with bags of rice and kegs of vegetable oil? Who is to blame for this? The breach of fundamental human rights of market women by the Customs must not be allowed to repeat itself. I expect the Senate to summon the Customs boss at this critical moment. On a final note, I urge the Customs boss Col. Muhammed Ahmadu Ali to remove the officers deployed to the nation’s borders and replace them with more competent, diligent and honest officers.
Ibadan.
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