By Hussaina Yakubu
December 31, 2021
Customs Area Command Kaduna generates N8.487bn revenue in 2021
The Kaduna Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has generated N8.487 billion revenue from January to November 2021, the Comptroller, Mr Sanusi Abubakar, has said.
The comptroller told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Kaduna that the figure was higher than N8.1 billion revenue generated by the command in 2020.
Abubakar explained that most of the revenue was generated from excise duties from factories, including duties paid on imported goods through the Kaduna Inland Dry Port.
He added that a lot of seizures were made within the period, as the command tightened noose on smugglers through intensive patrols and intelligence gathering.
The comptroller, however, said the command had contended with attacks on its personnel by smugglers and their collaborators within the period.
He said that in one of such attacks by smugglers, an officer nearly lost his life when their patrol team intercepted a vehicle with Federal Government registration number in Dan Magaji area of Zaria.
Abubakar assured that the command had adopted new strategies to achieve more success in 2022 and warned smugglers to embrace legitimate businesses, as the command will continue to hunt them down and ensure that they face the full wrath of the law.
“Wherever they go, our eagle eye is watching and will track them down to their hide outs; the Nigeria customs service is out to protect the Nigerian economy out of patriotism.
“It is only the unpatriotic that engages in smuggling activities which is also a way of sabotaging the Nigerian economy.
“It’s only when we are patriotic that most of the problems of the country can be addressed. We must learn to think what we can do for our country and make sacrifices to make the country great.
“Nigerians need to be more patriotic and cooperate with the government on it’s policies to move the economy forward,” the comptroller added.
He urged Nigerians to support the customs service and stop seeing it as an enemy, stressing that the service was only out to stop people who are out to sabotage the nation’s economy.
Abubakar thanked the management of the NCS for all the necessary support to the command, including the recent provision of new patrol vehicles to enhance their duties. (NAN)