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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has blatantly denied allegations levelled upon the agency by investigative journalist, Fisayo Soyombo, that customs officers are working with a smuggler to bring in large consignment of rice into Nigeria from Benin Republic.

In a chat with newsmen on Monday, the national public relations officer of the NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada dismissed Soyombo’s claims as cheap blackmail.

Soyombo had alleged on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that, on Sunday night, more than 130,000 kilograms of rice were smuggled across the Ogun State border under the supervision of certain customs officers. According to Soyombo, the rice was going to be transported in over 2,000 cars, each carrying approximately 65 bags of rice, from Bebe in Benin Republic into Sango, Ogun State.

Soyombo alleged that some of the vehicles would enter Sango from the toll gate by driving against traffic, posing a risk to other road users. He also claimed other vehicles would reach Sango through routes in Ifo and Oju-Ore-Ota, apparently with the knowledge or assistance of customs officers. Read here.

Responding to the allegations, Maiwada of the NCS questioned the motives behind Soyombo’s post, suggesting that the journalist might have been acting prematurely. “Why could he not wait for the crime to be committed before shouting wolves where there is none?” Maiwada said, indicating that the NCS is fully committed to combating smuggling and that its officers are “ever ready to suppress smuggling activities to the barest minimum and will not relent in doing so.”

Maiwada added that the NCS was aware of individuals he described as “disgruntled and/or sponsored,” whom he accused of masquerading as concerned citizens but allegedly attempting to divert the attention of customs officers for ulterior purposes. “Sometimes, these individuals aid the activities of ‘factional’ smuggling gangs themselves,” he alleged, though he provided no additional details.

Emphasising that he could not divulge the NCS’s “active intelligence,” Maiwada assured the public that customs officers were prepared to take decisive action against any smuggling operations and their collaborators in line with Nigerian laws. He suggested that the NCS was already a step ahead in its intelligence operations to curb smuggling activities.