The Nigeria Customs Service has disclosed that since the ban on supplying petrol to border filling stations became effective, over 60,000 litres of petrol have been seized from smugglers by its officials.
The disclosure was made by the Public Relations Officer, NCS Ogun 1 Command, Abdullahi Maiwada.
Maiwada said that at least 1,000 litres of fuel were seized from smugglers daily through the joint efforts of security agencies.
“We are working as directed by our corporate headquarters. The number of vehicles that are used in conveying fuel is increasing geometrically and this has increased the number of vehicles that pass through illegal routes. What I can say is that we are doing our best to suppress smuggling to its barest minimum and we are suppressing it.
“The seizure of petroleum products is on and we do that every day and we do auction them as enshrined in the law. The number of seizures we have shows that we are effectively manning the borders against smuggling of petroleum products outside the country.
“On a daily basis, we seize about 1,000 litres of petrol on the average. So we are suppressing smuggling,” Maiwada told Punch.
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Nairametrics reported when the NCS suspended the supply of petroleum products to filling stations located within 20 kilometres to the nation’s borders with other countries. The filling stations located close to the borders had been accused of illegal export of petroleum products following the closure of Nigeria’s borders to neighbouring countries.
Meanwhile, the NCS had taken the ban seriously as it constituted a special task force to man the borders against smuggling of petroleum products. The task force ensured the smooth implementation of the directive.
The special task force comprised of members who were delegated with responsibilities and tasks of managing the inflow of petroleum products for the basic needs of border communities particularly the Idiroko and Ajilete axis in Ogun State.
