The recent raids in some parts of Lagos State by men of the Nigeria Customs Service bore all the known operational hallmarks of the arms-bearing agencies of the government. Purportedly meant to fish out some contraband that might have escaped through the poorly-manned borders, the operation exuded their usual high-handedness, arbitrariness and, above all, the lack of regard for human lives. By the time they were through, they had left behind a scene littered with dead bodies and persons with gunshot wounds.
If the customs officials are permitted to carry weapons, in self-defence, given their bloody encounters with smugglers and other hardened criminals at the borders, does it justify their turning the weapons against innocent civilians, some of whom did not even have anything to do with their raids? One account of what transpired that day has it that no fewer than four people were feared dead and three others wounded, while another said one death was recorded, but with several injured persons.
The main cause of death was that the invading customs men could not exercise sufficient restraint in the use of firearms, as they were shooting in a crowded area, according to reports. Agreed that most of the victims were hit accidentally, it is an ugly incident that should have been avoided if they had shown maximum restraint as they were acting in densely populated places. The pandemonium that followed as people tried to run for their dear lives compounded the situation.
It is an act of extreme recklessness for public officials entrusted with weapons to enter the town and start shooting as the customs officials were said to have done. The only way to give justice to the families of those who reportedly lost their loved ones as a result of the activities of the unruly customs men is to ensure that a thorough investigation is instituted and those found culpable, brought to book.
Ensuring that those who were responsible for the avoidable loss of lives are punished will also serve an additional purpose of deterring others who may be contemplating a similar course of action in the future. No country thrives where impunity is the dominant feature of life. Nothing should be spared by the government in curbing impunity, which is gradually becoming a way of life in the country.
Among men of the customs service, as in other arms-bearing agencies of government, the trend of extrajudicial killings is growing considerably. Much too often, reports show that a life is lost that should have been avoided. A good example was the killing of a certain Solomon Apase in Mowo in Badagry, in July, for allegedly carrying smuggled goods in his Toyota Camry car. While trying to plead that his seized car be released, Apase was reportedly shot by the customs official. Even if the man was guilty of smuggling, was it the duty of a man armed with taxpayers’ money to summarily execute him?
Ordinarily, the job of customs officials should be at the borders where heavy smuggling takes place on a daily basis. But due to corruption, many of the goods they are supposed to seize at the borders filter through. Apart from the damage to the economy – by allowing cheap and sometimes inferior goods into the country to threaten local manufacturing – smuggling deals a heavy blow to government revenue. Besides oil and gas, the customs are the highest revenue generator for the government, which further underscores their importance. For these reasons, the job of policing the borders should be taken more seriously and patriotically.
Unfortunately, this job is sometimes compromised, for some selfish reasons, resulting in a second round of checks within the hinterland for those same goods that should have been seized at the borders, in the first place. It has become commonplace to see heavily armed customs men seizing vehicles from travellers in many parts of the country on account of such vehicles allegedly finding their way into the country illegally. Besides, others go into open markets and shops, and cart away goods displayed for sale.
In a recent incident at Iddo Railway Terminus in Lagos, customs men were said to have invaded shops and carted away six trailers of “contraband” rice. They had reportedly locked up the shops during the day, only to come back around 2 am to start taking away bags of rice. Such an activity carried out under the cover of darkness can easily give way to illegality and corruption.
Even if such activities have to be carried out, it should be in collaboration with the police, who are statutorily empowered to perform internal security duties. By deploying a huge chunk of its workforce on the roads and inside the cities, purportedly in pursuit of smuggled goods, a big gap is created at the borders, which are already poorly manned as a result of manpower shortage. This will further make it easier for smugglers to have their way.
This is the time for the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, to take a second look at the activities of his men. As his predecessor, Dikko Abdullahi, did in 2009, this is the time to dismantle most of the checkpoints, which are becoming more notorious for their extortionate tendencies than for revenue generation.
When a certain Arinze Nwachukwu, a bus conductor, was shot dead at the old Onitsha-Asaba toll gate, in January 2009, by customs men mounting an illegal checkpoint, the response was to limit their operations to 40 kilometres to the border. It will not be out of place to revisit that policy. Customs cannot function better by relocating to the cities. What the agency requires is better training, modern equipment and committed and efficient personnel to be able to man the borders better.
