The Nigerian Customs Service said yesterday that insinuations alleging that the service confiscated some SUVs smuggled into the country because they belonged to a serving Senator, were untrue.
The NCS gave the explanation just as it announced the redeployment of 337 senior officers across the country in a bid to re-position the service for better performance.
In statements issued by the service, NCS said, “The attention of Nigerian Customs Service has been drawn to a mischievous publication in some prints and online platforms that the service has seized vehicles belonging to a Senator in Kano.
“Since this is capable of misleading the public into wrong insinuations, it is imperative to state the facts.
“That the Operatives of NCS Compliance Team, based on credible intelligence, trailed the movement of some smuggled vehicles from Maigatari, Jigawa State to a house at Magaji Rumfa, GRA Kano.
“On the 7th February, 2017, eleven (11) vehicles, 10 Hilux and one (1) Land cruiser jeep were retrieved from the house at Magaji Rumfa GRA, Kano and taken for detention at the HQ of Customs Area Command Kano.
“That the officers discovered there were no occupants in the house, hence the gate was forced opened to retrieve the smuggled vehicles.
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“That investigation into the smuggling of the vehicles is still on to establish the true owner.
“From the above, it is clear that whoever introduced the “Senator” angle to the story is out for pure mischief and does not represent the position of the service on this issue.
“Accordingly, the false and misleading report should be discountenanced please.
On the redeployment, it said, “As part of the ongoing repositioning of the Service, the Comptroller-General of Customs Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) has approved the redeployment of 337 Assistant Comptrollers of Customs to various Commands across the country with immediate effect.
“The redeployment exercise which also confirms AC Joseph Attah as the substantive Public Relations Officer of the Service moved AC Babadidi B from FOU D to Apapa, AC Udenze A from ICT to TCIP, AC Ilesanmi K.D from Apapa to Kad/Kt, AC Ugorji, O.A from ICT to PH II among others.
“The CGC charged the affected officers to support the leadership of their new Commands in the renewed efforts to entrench a more transparent culture of service delivery”.
He said ‘so much is expected from NCS in terms of economic and security wellbeing of the country, we cannot afford to fail the nation’.
The statements were signed separately by Joseph Attah and Abubakar Dalhatu, PRO and Deputy PRO respectively for the Comptroller-General of Customs.
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