Thursday, March 28, 2024

Rice racketeering scandal rocks Customs – Investigation

  • Officials dispose contraband, pocket the money – Traders
  • No, we send rice, other food items to IDP camps, says Customs
  • Over $5bn rice trapped in Benin Republic warehouses – Importers

 

Ahead of this year’s Christmas season, there are strong allegations of racketeering of seized items against some corrupt officials of the Nigeria Customs Service.
Traders, who spoke in separate interviews with our correspondent, alleged that multi-billion naira ‘smuggled items’, seized from dealers and traders across the country, were being discreetly sold by these officials.
Similarly, the authorities are said to have looked away as the racket is believed to be what insiders called “delivery trade system.”
It was also alleged that, under the illegal deal, proceeds from the items sold were shared pro-rata, through the command chain.
The affected items are: imported rice, frozen foods, including turkey and chicken; vegetable oil, as well as computers and vehicles, seized from smugglers and kept in Customs warehouses across the country.
Such seized items, particularly rice, frozen turkey and chicken, it was learnt, were usually sold by the NCS officials to their friends, relations, traders and other members of the public.
Investigations by our correspondent also revealed that, owing to the Federal Government’s refusal to allow rice importation through land borders, and fierce Customs anti-smuggling drive, bags of rice, worth over $5billion, destined for the Nigerian markets, were trapped in various warehouses in neighbouring Benin Republic.
The rice dealers, who disclosed this, decried the situation where Customs officials would make “a faulty government policy a money-making window at the expense of genuine traders.”
This development, according to findings, has boosted the alleged racketeering in rice, the most popular staple food item in Nigeria, among Customs officials, especially as the Christmas season fast approaches, just as the NCS intensifies its clampdown on the smugglers of rice, frozen foods and other items around the country’s land borders with the neighbouring Benin Republic.
Recently, the Rice Importers and Distributors Association of Nigeria expressed worries about the high rate of the smuggling of rice into the country and appealed to the Federal Government to take urgent and drastic measures against the menace.
Between August 29 and October 3, 2017, the Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service intercepted 4,227 bags of foreign parboiled rice, foreign frozen poultry products and vegetable oil as well as 11 used vehicles. The Duty Paid Value for seized contraband goods was N356million.
A bank official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that a senior Customs oficial gave him 50 bags of rice, free of charge, last December.
“My wife opened a rice shop with the gift,” he disclosed.
A National Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) staff, who also asked not to be named, because of the sensitivity of the issue, said a neighbour, who is a Customs official, gave his wife two cartons of seized turkey as Christmas gift last December.
In the first half of this year, the NCS recorded 3,798 seizures with a Duty Paid Value of over N7 billion and generated a revenue of N486 billion within the same period.
But our correspondent learnt that, contrary to official claims by the NCS that it was waging an unrelenting war against the smuggling of rice and other contraband items into the country, some Customs officials “actually aid smuggling and only arrest a few persons, who cannot meet their demands.”
This allegation against the Customs officials was corroborated by some dealers in rice, who accused them of secretly selling seized rice and frozen food items stocked in Customs warehouses to traders and members of the public.
A prominent rice importer, Mr. Ayodele Yusuf, told our correspondent that the claims by the Nigeria Customs Service that it was fighting rice smuggling might not be “entirely true,” as investigations had revealed that some Customs officials were actually accomplices.
Another rice importer, Mr. Orobosa James, who corroborated Yusuf’s claim, alleged that Customs officials on patrol at the border areas collected between N3,000 and N4,000 bribe for a bag of rice from the smugglers.
“My sister, this Nigeria Customs Service is one of the most corrupt agencies in the country. What they do is that, once in a while, they rush to the radio and television to make some noise about a few goods they have seized, so that people will believe that they are working. The corruption in the Customs is unimaginable.
“They only go after those importers, who don’t have enough money to settle them. People, who can afford the money don’t have any problem, as they are allowed to go with their goods. But those who cannot afford it or try to play smart game with them, are often arrested and paraded before the press as smugglers. They collect between N3,000 and N4,000 as bribe, for a bag of rice.”
A trader, who sells parboiled rice at the Mile 12 Market in Lagos, Mrs. Florence Adegoke, said, “The only language these Customs corrupt officials understand is money. The quantity of rice that comes into Nigeria through the land borders illegally is huge and can even be more than what comes in through legal means. The Federal Government should set up a combined special task force to man our borders. This is the only way to curb the menace of these corrupt Customs personnel.”
According to her, most of the contraband items seized by the Customs, particularly rice, are usually disposed by the NCS officials themselves.
She condemned the occasional seizure of items in markets and shops by NCS officials, saying it amounted to double taxation as they were usually forced to pay another duty for such goods after the initial duty paid at the borders before being allowed to bring the items into the country.
She said, “In the case of imported rice, they secretly sell them to their friends, relatives or even the general public. If you live in a compound with a Customs officer, you will be amazed at the way they flaunt seized goods, ranging from bags of rice, cartons of frozen foods, cars, name them.
“This is affecting our business, because we are constantly being disturbed. We pay Customs duty to bring in our rice through the Seme border. So, we are surprised that the same Customs officials, who had collected duty from us, will still come to invade our stores and cart away our products.”
Another rice dealer, Prince Nnaemeka Odoh, said although the officials of the Federal Operating Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service usually claimed that the seized food items were donated to Internally Displaced Persons’ camps, there were no records to ascertain that all the contraband actually went to the IDPs, “especially now that many of the inmates of such camps have returned to their original places of abode.”
When contacted, the spokesperson of the NCS, Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, Ikeja, Mr. Jerry Atta, dismissed the allegation that Custom officials were involved in the illegal sale of rice and other seized items.

In the case of imported rice, they secretly sell them to their friends, relatives or even the general public. If you live in a compound with a Customs officer, you will be amazed at the way they flaunt seized goods, ranging from bags of rice, cartons of frozen foods, cars

Atta also said that the NCS would not relent in combating smuggling, which he described as “systemic and deeply rooted.”
“The essence of this action is not to deter people from doing their businesses. But we are against economic saboteurs, who have devised a means of sabotaging the economy by indulging in smuggling. People take advantage of our porous borders to perpetrate nefarious activities like this. In Nigeria, you have to be tough, if not, there will be several abuses,” he said.
The Customs spokesperson also dismissed allegations that the aggressive revenue generation drive by the NCS had created an unfriendly business environment, adding that the agency would maintain zero tolerance for corruption and other malpractices.
Atta added, “We will do everything within our powers to meet the target set by the government. But the NCS will not collect tariff above what the law says. Those who are complaining about our tariff policy are those businessmen, who were used to enjoying softer approach. As the largest market for imported rice in Africa, Customs took the alert seriously and charged officers to watch out for such imports that do not conform to regulatory requirements.
“Last year, 29 officers of the NCS were dismissed for various acts of gross misconduct. The dismissed officers are among 44 senior officers, who were punished for actions capable of compromising national economy and security. Some others, ranking from Deputy-Comptroller of Customs, five Assistant-Comptrollers, Chief Superintendents of Customs and four Superintendents, were also punished.”

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