Katsina: Customs loses two officers, generates N935m

The Katsina Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NSC) says it generated as revenue N935m in 2022 and by implication exceeded its stipulated monthly target of N60.84m.

The Command also disclosed that it arrested 10 suspects during the period under review of which some are being prosecuted at the federal high court, while some were granted administrative bail.

However, the Command within the period under review said two of its officers were killed in the line of duties.

The Controller of the command, Mr Wada Chedi, who has now been redeployed to Port Harcourt, made the disclosure during a thanksgiving and send-off ceremony held in his honour on Wednesday.

In terms of export trade facilitation, Chedi said the command recorded a Free-On-Board (FOB) value worth N4.42 billion for non-oil commodities with metric tons of 69,436.77 which was exported through the Jibia-Magama border station.

According to Chedi, the command also made 379 arrests, of which 258 among them were converted to seizures after a thorough investigation, with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N144.75m.

The items seized during the period under review as disclosed by Chedi includes foreign vegetable oil, foreign spaghetti, second-hand clothing, as well as vehicles used for conveying the smuggled items.

The outgoing controller, however, called on stakeholders to give the incoming one the same cooperation he enjoyed while overseeing the affairs of the Katsina command.

The thanksgiving and send-off ceremony which was attended by heads of sister security agencies also saw awards issued to outstanding customs personnel and partners.

Speaking earlier, the state’s Senior Special Adviser on Security Matters who represented Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari expressed appreciation for the level of cooperation enjoyed between security agencies and the state government, noting that that the synergy accounts for the relative peace being enjoyed in the state.