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Defence/Security

DPR raises alarm over smuggling of petroleum products in Adamawa

DPR raises alarm over smuggling of petroleum products in Adamawa
By Yakubu Uba
Smuggling
Yola, July 16, 2019 (NAN) Alhaji Ibrahim Ciroma, the Adamawa Controller of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), has raised concern over what he described as worrisome smuggling of petroleum products in the state.
Ciroma raised the alarm on Tuesday while speaking to newsmen after inspection of some filling stations in Yola.
He said that DPR had discovered a trend in filling stations in Yola where one to three trucks laden with fuel in filling stations would be seen waiting to discharge their contents only for the trucks to later disappear overnight without discharging the contents.
“When they vanished you know where they are likely to be, they may go to the border and cross. This is becoming worrisome.
“This has become the trend and we will continue to follow up to ensure that no product gets out of our border.
“We are now monitoring movement of the trucks and any single truck that is not accounted, the marketer will face sanction; we will charge such marketer N275 per litre and seal the station if he fails to pay.
“We are going to do that because the rate at which fuel is finding its way across the border is unacceptable and I will also seize this opportunity to call on security agencies manning our borders to please step up their operations,” he said.
Ciroma, who noted that the Federal Government was spending a lot on subsidy and bridging cost, said those engaged in smuggling were highly unpatriotic because they collect the product at subsidised rate and sale it in Cameroon for over N300 per litre.
While reiterating the commitment of DPR to work with security agencies to expose the criminals, he said DPR had discovered 45 illegal filling stations in Adamawa.
“We gave the filling stations two months to cease operation but they refused.
“We have communicated the development to the police and copied other security agencies,” Ciroma said.
He also said that DPR would not condone the practice of keeping loaded trucks in filling stations because of the dangers involved.
“Yola is a very hot place, if you keep loaded petrol trucks in the scorching sun anything can happen; if it catches fire it would burn down the filling station and all the people around.
“We can’t compromise safety in the petroleum industry,” Ciroma said. (NAN)
YMU/NNO/MST
Edited by Nick Nicholas/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Economy

(Audio) Industrial council meets on technology training, MSME financing, smuggling

Industry
By Donald Ugwu
Abuja, July 20, 2018 (NAN)The Industrial Council met on Friday to resolve a number of issues affecting industry, including training in technology, MSME financing and how to curb smuggling.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, told State House correspondents after the meeting that the gathering dwelt extensively on the need to provide training in the technology space.

The monthly meeting was chaired over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Cue in audio (Enelamah)

“We have just held a meeting of the Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council, Industrial Council for short.

“It was a progress meeting, as you know we meet every month and the purpose is to make sure that those issues that affect industry are adequately discussed and addressed.

“Today we worked on a number of issues; first, we worked on the whole area of technology and how to sort of deal with issues around MSMEs and financing.

“We also worked on issues that affect training and providing training particularly in the technology space and training people there.

“The sub-committee working on skills acquisition came up with a proposal that was adopted by the council that will lead to providing more training in the technology and the related areas to our people to create more jobs.”

Cue out audio

Enelama added that there was also a discussion around trading and addressing the issue around smuggling.

He said the discussion was robust to ensure that there was a solution to smuggling which had been a problem area in the country.

He said the council also discussed what the federal government was doing with the states and their governors.

According to him, the state governors are cooperating with the industrial council in those areas of interest, such as land acquisition, rights of way or multiplicity of taxes, among other things.

“So I will say overall the industrial policy and competitiveness council had a good meeting today,’’ he stated.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some prominent industry operators such as Aliko Dangote and Abdulsamad Rabiu of the BUA group attended the meeting.

In a related development, the United Kingdom Development office met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to strengthen the cooperation between UK and the Federal Republic of Nigeria in trade, sports and human capital development.

Penny Mordant, the UK’s International Development Secretary, told correspondents after the meeting that both parties discussed economic development, investing in human capital, health and education.

She said her department was very proud of its partnership with the Federal Government and would like to continue investing in sport. health and education.

“We want to ensure that Nigerian government is really able to keep investing in that too; that will help us tremendously.

“We have been discussing economic prosperity and talking about the security and humanitarian situation in particular in the North East.

“We have also been talking about some other issues including the elections to make sure that they are free and fair elections and that will be very positive for the nation,’’ she said.

The British secretary noted with gladness that the country’s investment in education had been giving the children and young people what they needed to achieve their full potential. (NAN)
DCU/YEE

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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim

General news

(Audio) NDLEA Lagos Command prosecutes 39 suspects in 3 months — Official 

Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Ibrahim Ali (rtd) 

 

Drugs
By Aisha Cole
Lagos, April 24, 2018 (NAN) The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Lagos State Command, says it has prosecuted no fewer than 39 suspects between Jan. 2018 and March 2018.

Mr Lawal Opeloyeru, Principal Staff Officer, Operations and Intelligence of the agency, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.

Cue in audio

 

“We have prosecuted no fewer than 39 suspects this year alone. That is Lagos State Command alone.

“They were convicted and some of them were serving their terms of imprisonment in Kirikiri.

“The dangers of drugs are very clear to everybody. Drugs kill; they disrupt the peace and security of the nation.

“So the advice is that everybody should join hands with NDLEA to make sure that we rid the country of the menace of illicit drugs.

“We are considering constituting a joint operation with the Nigeria Customs Service so that every agency will bring its experience and expertise to bear on efforts to beat these criminals.

“The issue of seizing substances like this without apprehending the owner is not good for prosecution.

“So we will work together to ensure that when we have a situation like this arises, those who are connected to it are arrested. “

Cue out audio

He alleged that some of the illicit drugs were from Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria.

He added that the agency was working closely with other neighbouring countries to stop the smuggling of such drugs.

Opeloyeru said the agency would deepen collaboration with customs to end the smuggling of illicit drugs. (NAN)

AIC/AJA/YEE
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Edited by Adeleye Ajayi/Emmanuel Yashim

Economy

Customs discovers new method of smuggling rice

Customs discovers new method of smuggling rice
By Yakubu Uba
NAN-H-27
Rice
Mubi (Adamawa), Dec. 20, 2017 (NAN) The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it has uncovered new methods of smuggling rice at the commercial border town of Mubi in Adamawa.
The Adamawa/Taraba Area Comptroller of the service, Mr Adetoye Francis, said this while inspecting a tipper lorry truck and two tricycles loaded with suspected smuggled rice in Mubi town on Wednesday.
Francis warned smugglers that the service under the present administration has zero tolerance for any act of economic sabotage.
He said that the command had identified new ways smugglers adopted to conduct their nefarious activities such as using tipper lorries carrying sand with bags of rice beneath the sand in an attempt to deceive custom officials.
“They (smugglers) are using the cover of on-going construction work going on in Mubi by using tippers meant for conveying sand for smuggling by covering the items with sand.
“The lorry you are seeing here was arrested along the Mubi-Sahuda border road with 52 bags of rice covered with sand,” Francis said.
He commended the officers and men of the Mubi office of the command for their commitment to check smuggling at the border town and assured them of support at all time.
The comptroller, who also addressed some members of Mubi business community, cautioned them on the dangers of smuggling on the economy and the consequences if caught.
Earlier, the Officer-in-Charge of Mubi Unit, Mr Aliyu Bunza, who narrated the successes recorded by the unit in checking the activities of smugglers around the border town, lauded the support and cooperation the command is receiving from other security operatives in the area.
Also speaking, some representatives of Mubi business community, Alhaji Sanusi Hassan and Malam Sali Manaja, declared support of their members to customs’ effort to check smuggling.
They promised to continue to educate their members against smuggling. (NAN)
YMU/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Economy

Audio Attached: Customs seizes goods worth more than N11bn in 11 months — Official

NAN-HE-10

Seizures

By Suzzy Tolofari

Abuja, Dec. 19, 2017 (NAN) The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it seized 3, 870 with a duty paid value (DPV) of N11.2 billion from Jan. to Nov. 2017.

 

The Public Relations Officer of NCS, Mr Joseph Attah, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja that this was against the 5,602 goods worth N10.2 billion seized within the same period in 2016.

 

Attah said that the volume of seizures made in 2017 increased over that of the year before because of the massive seizure of expensive vehicles.

 

He said that the successes recorded in 2017 were the results of the steps taken in 2016 taken by the Comptroller-General of NCS, retired Col. Hameed Ali, towards reforming the service

 

Cue in audio 1 (Attah)

 

“Between Jan. and Nov. 2016 – this is general seizure – a total 5, 602 assorted seizures were made.

 

“Within that period 335 persons were arrested in connection with the seizures; of course some of them were granted bail; some of them had their cases pending, some had their cases  at advance stages.

 

“In the same period of Jan. to Nov. 2017, we recorded 3,870 seizures with 186 persons arrested in connection with these seizures.’’

 

Cue out audio 1

 

He said that high profile seizures were made in 2017, some of which included weapons, prohibited items, and exotic vehicles such as bullet-proof cars.

 

Cue in audio 2 (Attah)

 

“This year we recorded more of high profile seizures beyond the 2,671 pump action riffles that cannot be valued; of course you know these are highly prohibited items that cannot be sold or auctioned; so automatically their value is not here.

 

“We had exotic cars – bullet-proof cars, talking about vehicles that their values are more than N300 million.

 

“The 5,602 seizures of 2016 between January and November amounted to N252, 408, 422 while that of 2017 – talking about 3,870 seizures, amounted to N11,237, 574,346.63.’

 

Cue out audio 2

 

The spokesman of the service said that customs had reasons to believe that some financially strong smugglers had taken advantage of the country’s porous land borders and government policies to smuggle in items such as bullet-proof cars

 

“Recently, anti-smuggling operatives of the Federal Operation Unit Zone A, stormed a place in Lagos – a well fenced place and evacuated more than 50 exotic cars.

 

“So our anti-smuggling operation in 2017 was highly intelligence-driven and that led to the seizure of high profile and highly valuable items,’’ he said. (NAN)

SUT/DOR/YEE

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Edited by Nyisom Dore/Emmanuel Yashim

Health

Institute urges FG to boost local production of drugs

Institute urges FG to boost local production of drugs

NAN-HG-2

Drugs

By Yashim Katurak

Abuja, Feb. 24, 2017 (NAN) Prof. Karniyus Gamaliel, Director-General, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Abuja, says Nigeria has the capacity to produce its own drugs and end reliance on donor countries.

Gamaliel told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday that this would also impact positively in the fight to end drug smuggling and fake drug peddling in the country by relevant agencies.

He noted that although the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has made progress over the years in addressing the problem, there was need for the Federal Government to take more stringent steps.

He said that as long as the country stalled from attaining this goal, it would continue to face the problem of controlling how drugs both fake and good were brought into the country.

“If a country does not produce, it is very difficult to control but if you produce you can have better control.

“Nigeria is not free from the sale of substandard drugs and the major reason is that our boarders are porous. There is also the need for relevant agencies to strengthen control internally.

“Drugs are more traceable than money. When drugs come into the country, they must get approval and someone must apply for that approval so if one tracks substandard products one will always know where they came from.

“There is a possibility that people are still producing fake drugs right here in the country; but this is not up to 20 or 30 per cent of what is smuggled into the country from other countries,” Gamaliel said.

He said that the institute has been working with NAFDAC for several years under a memorandum of understanding to address fake drug smuggling and peddling in the country.

He said that the partnership has also allowed the institute to test products locally produced by entrepreneurs and sent to the institute by NAFDAC to check for efficacy and safety.

He added that this has enabled the institute register various locally produced items including food supplements and issue certificates after checking for quality and standard.

“We work hand in hand with NAFDAC in this process we do not just approve, we provide certificates that the entrepreneurs use to register with NAFDAC,’’ Gamaliel said.

He commended the steps taken by the Federal Ministry of Health regarding the distribution policy of drugs in the country.

He said that products getting to the distribution centres were sent directly to hospitals and registered pharmacies so as to monitor and track the movement of drugs to check fake production. (NAN)

KRY/AK/MST

Edited by Akin Makanjuola/Muhammad Suleiman Tola