Skip to main content

Group accuses customs officers of harassment, extortion, begs FG to intervene

- The Shoe Dealers Association in Jos accused some operatives on the Nigeria Customs Service of harassment and extortion

- The group said their members who buy their wares from a Lagos market always face attacks by customs officers, despite not dealing in illegal goods

- The traders, therefore, urged the federal government to intervene

Officials of the Shoe Dealers Association (SDA), Terminus Branch, Jos, have accused officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of harassment and extortion while carrying out their legal business.

The chairman of the association, Hamza Sadiq Adam, wondered why the officers could treat them like that when they buy goods within the country, The Guardian reports.

Legit.ng gathers that Adam called on the federal government, inspector general of police, comptroller-general of customs and the National Assembly to help stop the harassment.

READ ALSO: Boko Haram: 40 mobile policemen posted to Baga reportedly still missing - Source

“Customs men have been stopping us on the road, as we return from Lagos to Jos. We always buy shoes, kitchen utensils, socks, handkerchiefs, belts and other things from Lagos. We buy our market at Oluwole Market on Lagos Island, which is a recognised market.

“Anytime we go to market, we always go in a convoy of seven to 10 vehicles. In January last year, customs officials attacked one of my members and shot him. I am even one of the victims. I am still struggling now to recover from the injury I sustained.

“We petitioned the Comptroller-General, the Senate through our lawyer and nothing has happened up till now. All our complaints fell on deaf ears.

“The goods we buy are not illegal goods. We buy in bulk from Lagos factories, which are duly registered. They are not contrabands. And so, we don’t know our offence,” he said.

Adam narrated how the customs officers showed him guns, saying that after beating him mercilessly, they could shoot him and that nothing would happen.

He continued: “This is not good for the country’s image.

“The federal government should take note of this and do something about it because it is denting the image of Nigeria.”

Also speaking, the organising secretary of the association, Umar Sabo Umar and secretary, Babangida Musa, noted that they were law-abiding citizens who need security and federal government’s intervention on the matter.

But a customs officer, who asked not to be mentioned at Customs House in Dogon Karge, Jos said the story was being exaggerated, adding, however, that officers of the service actually over-stepped their bounds by threatening to shoot the traders and extorting them.

He, however, lamented that the distance to Jos was too much for them to intervene urgently, urging them to take the matter to the public domain as they had done.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) threatened to shut down customs command in Ikeja, Lagos, if confiscated foodstuffs meant for internally displaced persons were not released.

This was contained in a statement on Saturday, November 24, 2018, by the national public relations officer of the association, Bestman Okereafor.

Okereafor said: “NANS will be considering occupying the customs office on Monday, Nov. 26, to demand justice for our Diaspora Zone."

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better

Customs Seize N1bn Worth of Codeine: Importation of Fairly-Used Bags, Shoes Banned | Legit TV

Source: Legit.ng



from Nigeria News today & Breaking Naija news ▷ Read on LEGIT.NG 24/7 http://bit.ly/2R2ygyd
via EDUPEDIA24/7

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nigerian Academy Of Science Inducts First Female President

The Nigerian Academy of Science has inducted a professor of Parasitology/Epidemiology, Ekanem Ikpi Braide, as its 19th President on Thursday. In a statement issued by Oladoyin Odubanjo, the Executive Secretary of the Academy, Braide is the Academy’s first female President in 44 years of existence. It read, “Braide was a member of the national committee that achieved the laudable feat of guinea worm eradication in Nigeria. “She has a rich professional experience as a researcher and an administrator. In July 2010, Professor Braide was honoured by the President of Nigeria with the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contribution to disease control in Nigeria. “She was nominated by the Honourable Minister of Health to serve in the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Health Sector Response (MEACoC-HSR). “Professor Braide served as Vice-Chancellor, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) Calabar, Nigeria (2004 to 2009) and as P...

NLNG Signs Letter Of Intent On Delayed Gas Expansion Project

The Nigerian Natural Liquefied Gas LTD has signed a letter of intent for the engineering, procurement and construction of its long held up Train Seven project. In a statement released by the company on Wednesday, it said that the $10bn project will be executed by a consortium of Italian firm Saipem, Japan’s Chiyoda and South Korea’s Daewoo. The statement reads, “The project will form part of the investment of over $10bn including the upstream scope of the LNG value chain, thereby boosting the much needed Foreign Direct Investment profile of Nigeria.” Managing Director of NLNG, Tony Atta, said in 2018 that the Final Investment Decision would be made in the fourth quarter of that year. This did not however, materialize. According to the release, the project will have a four to five-year execution time after the signing of the FID. The project is expected to add an extra 8 million tons per annum of gas to the 22 mtpa currently exported by the company. Oil News AddThis :...

Former Maritime Agency Boss, Buba Galadima, Accuses AMCON Of Witch-hunt After Property Takeover

  A former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Agency, Buba Galadima, has accused the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria of witch-hunt after the agency took possession of his business and assets on Tuesday in Abuja. Galadima, an ardent critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, claimed that he did not borrow money or have unpaid debt with Unity Bank, which lodged a complaint against him and occasioned AMCON’s move on Tuesday. The properties taken over include House No. 15, Addis Ababa Crescent, Wuse Zone 4, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and House No. 4, Bangui Street, Wuse 2, also in Abuja.  Reacting to the situation, Galadima said, “This is an attempt to disgrace and break me down. This is injustice and an attempt to humiliate me. "But I am unbreakable and they can never silence me. They sacked me and over 50 people that sleep in the apartment. "We don’t know where to go. We will remain on the streets. We will remain on the streets until God provi...