Leader of the “Operation Whirlwind” Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Assistant Comptroller General (ACG) IK Oladeji enthuses that under his watch the anti-Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) smuggling Unit has chased its smugglers out of business due to his commitment to eradicate the scourge
By Innocent Chukwu
The Assistant Comptroller General (ACG) IK Oladeji is an uncommon anti-smuggling officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) who puts his soul, body and spirit wholly into his assigned duties to achieve uncommon results. ACG Oladeji, besides other assignments in the NCS, is the current head of the Service’s Unit responsible for policing the land borders across the country against the smuggling in fuel otherwise referred to as the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). Since he inherited the leadership of the Unit codenamed the “Operation Whirlwind” a few months ago, the Unit has remained undaunted in its efforts to impress the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) which supervises it through numerous interceptions of thousands of litres of PMS that would have been smuggled out of the country unnoticed.
Speaking recently on how his team was able to arrest the ugly situation which had become a source of worry to the ONSA, within a few months, ACG Oladeji said he had an inner resolve to fulfill the promise he made the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to the effect that under his watch the Federal Government would not have anything to worry again concerning fuel smuggling. Oladeji was the Second-in-Command to the former leader of the Unit. At the sideline of the showcasing of some massive seizures of PMS in Yola, the Adamawa State capital recently, Oladeji boasted that he refused to be swayed by any form of inducement that could have lured him into half-hearted pursuit of the goal of ending fuel smuggling.
The ACG Finance and Administration (F&A) at the Customs headquarters in Abuja, Oladeji, said he chose discipline and patriotism against any form of filthy lucre that would cause him to sit on the fence and watch saboteurs keep destroying the economy of the country. In the Operation Whirlwind’s latest onslaught against PMS smuggling in Adamawa State, Oladeji disclosed that within a period of eight weeks of sustained operations, the Unit recorded a total of 55 instances of seizures of thousands of litres of PMS with an aggregated Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N181,603,551 only.
The seizures comprised of over 84,000 litres of smuggled fuel carried in 2,642 jerrycans of 25 litres each, another 11,256 litres of PMS stored in a filling station, as well as another 485 drums of 220 litres capacity each which were conveyed on two large wooden boats.
Addressing the media at the Customs House in Yola, ACG Oladeji said, “As we celebrate another milestone in our ongoing mission to protect the integrity of Nigeria and critical resources in line with the core mandate of the Nigeria Customs Service as enshrined in the Nigeria Customs Act 2023, following an unflinching commitment and intelligence-driven operations of our operatives, I’m pleased to inform you that within the period of eight weeks, we have recorded a total of 55 instances of seizures with aggregate Duty Paid Value of N181,603,551.
“These seizures were made across various smuggling flashpoints of Adamawa State. The seized items include 184,006 litres of PMS, in 2,642 jerrycans of 25 litres each, 11,256 litres of PMS deposited in a filling station, and 485 drums of 220 litres capacity each intended to be smuggled out of the country, and two large wooden boats that served as means of conveyance.
“This operation is geared towards energy and food security to foster economic growth in line with the core mandate of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“In line with this mandate, the Operation Whirlwind Zone ‘D’ has repositioned all its machineries across areas of its responsibilities, ensuring that the borders become water-tight to make it difficult for economic saboteurs to carry out their smuggling activities”.
