Smugglers kill more than 200 customs officers yearly – Hameed Ali

The Customs Comptroller-General, Retired Col Hameed Ali on Thursday said more than 200 of his men lose their lives to smugglers yearly, in their bid to carry out the national assignment.

Ali spoke at a meeting organised by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the service chiefs and heads of paramilitary organisations.

Ali who was represented by Mr Abdullahi Babani, an Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs said all hands must be on deck to defeat the hydra-headed monster called smuggling.

He added that NCS was disturbed by the high level of smuggling in the country and it was working tirelessly to reduce it to the barest minimum.

He also urged the Federal Government to work to improve its fiscal and monetary policies to help check the level of smuggling, especially the textile materials.

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“The government needs to get its fiscal and monetary policies right; the cost of business is high, there is the need for the government to provide roads, security and power for our local industries to thrive.

“When these are made available and easier, their products will be cheap and able to compete with the foreign ones because this is one of the reasons why smuggling thrives.

“Frankly, to address smuggling, the local industries must set the right prices and quality to have the desired patronage.

“The market is there, our local textile industries must be ready to compete and this is a Nigerian project. We shall work with CBN and other relevant stakeholders in achieving it.

“Our core mandate is to suppress smuggling and we are committed to achieving that. Therefore all stakeholders must support us to reduce it,” he said.

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