With the giant strides being recorded by the Ogun 1, Idiroko Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, the command has joined the league of top-tier Customs commands in the country
By Edu Abade
The Ogun 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Idiroko under the leadership of its Customs Area Controller (CAC), Comptroller James Ojo, has recorded some unprecedented milestones since he took over as the CAC with his wealth of experience from previous roles across the country.
Under Comptroller Ojo’s leadership, the command has consistently exceeded its revenue targets, contributing significantly to the NCS’s overall revenue, just as it intensified its anti-smuggling efforts resulting in numerous seizures of contraband goods.
Comptroller Ojo has fostered strong relationships with local communities, promoting mutual understanding and cooperation and prioritized capacity building through training and development to enhance operational efficiency of the officers and men.
The professionalism and dedication of the officers has led to the seizures of contraband goods valued at ₦1.2 billion in a single operation, while its revenue profile has surged to over ₦5.3 billion within a month, exceeding its target.
Its collaboration with stakeholders has led to discussions of trade facilitation and compliance, while the command’s strategic operations and enforcement have successfully led to the defeat of smugglers and economic saboteurs at Idiroko in alignment with the policy thrust of the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC) Adewale Bashir Adeniyi.
In his reform agenda, Ojo, who has expressed commitment to overcoming the economic challenges in Nigeria through effective customs operations, urged Nigerians to support and cooperate with the NCS.
Since taking over from Comptroller Ahmadu Shuaibu, his administration marked a new era for the Ogun 1 Command, just as his collaboration and cooperation has continually emphasized the importance of teamwork and cooperation among stakeholders to achieve customs goals.
These accomplishments demonstrate Comptroller Ojo’s dedication to enhancing customs operations and promoting economic growth in Nigeria even as the command faces significant challenges in combating petroleum smuggling in the border areas of Idiroko. Smuggling activities have been a persistent issue in this region, fueled by factors such as economic instability, corruption, and lack of effective border control ¹.
His words: “I took over from Compt. Shauibu who is now in charge of Zone B at Kaduna. When I came, I saw what he has done in terms of seizures in terms of revenue he has generated officers’ readiness to work, relationship with other agencies and stakeholders. I took over and went straight to action.
“I met various stakeholders, I visited the traditional rulers in Idiroko and sought their cooperation and assistance, because over the years, there has been this unfriendly relationship between the Customs and the community. So, I came to ask them what the problems were and they were able to say what the problems are and I assured them that those problems will be solved. And I’m happy to say that most of those problems are no longer there now. We enjoy a good working relationship and they come here regularly and we exchange greetings.
“On anti-smuggling, our command is an enforcement command and my officers have been up and doing, we have been able to make a lot of seizures, thousand Bags of Rice, Maize, Cannabis and used vehicles, among others. The officers have been working and I promised everybody when I came in that the era of cock and shoot gun to kill people everywhere is over.”
He explained that presently the Customs is becoming more of a global thing rather than the use of force, adding: “We deploy intelligence to gather some of the things we want to act on, I want to say that has yielded fruitful results. A lot of seizures have been made through that effort without actually shooting a gun. Since I came, we have not recorded any casualty, either from the officers’ side or the opposite site. So we have always been doing our work without any casualty.”
On revenue, he said: “I met the revenue at N12 million monthly, but we were able to raise the revenue to about N77 million. So, we are improving on the record we met on the ground and we are actually doing it well. The command is peaceful, the officers are going about their normal duties and we are performing our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
“Our hospital is there for the community to use, they are delivering babies, we are having surgeries being performed in the hospital, the hospital is expanding, as we ensured that we expand the hospital for the influx of the people from the community. We are happy to do that because it is one of our CSR to them. So it can show that we too have something to give to the community. This is one of the area where we have assisted the community.”
Among other achievements, he explained that another area is Primary and Secondary Schools funded by the revenue generated from the school, adding: “That is where we pay the teachers, but I must tell you that I was lucky to meet the CGC in Lagos and I discussed the school with him of the possibility for customs absorbing those teaching with us presently.”
Speaking further, Ojo said: “All these things are possible due to the encouragement from our CGC. The CGC is somebody that will encourage you to work, he is not a bully, he doesn’t harass or intimidate officers, he will analyze things and to make you see reasons why you should do your job. So, we are all happy that we have him at the helm of affairs.
“We pray that God will give him good health to lead the Service as expected. The Service has been doing well since he came onboard and everybody is attesting to it, government is attesting to it, the public and officers are attesting to it. We are enjoying the dividend of his leadership, salary wise, promotions , training, there is hardly any week the headquarters will not call officers for training, either in Abuja, Port Harcourt,
“Lagos has been training and retraining. So many things have been brought to the Service, so as to widen the scope of officers and to make sure they are always alive to their responsibilities.
“For instance, rice is not banned officially, but it is under suspension, because if a particular product is not given access to Forex, definitely such an item will not be allowed to come in. Rice is completely disallowed from coming in through the border, because the Federal government intends to grow our local rice industry.
“Nigeria is blessed with vast fertile land that can cultivate rice that feeds this country and we still export. But because our people have this mentality of not eating local produced rice, we depend mostly on this foreign imported rice.
“Some of the imported rice is not of any nutritional value. Some of them have been manufactured for months, years and they are produced with chemicals like our local rice which is natural and is health friendly. Those who are diabetic patients are not encouraged to eat this foreign rice, but our local rice is friendly with diabetic patients.
“Also the foreign exchange used for rice importation can be channeled into other areas of development. Aside from that, other things that have been banned like second hand clothes, arms and ammunition, which is under absolute prohibition cannot come in here,” the command concluded.
