Assistant Comptroller General of Customs Kehinde Ejibunu in this interview with newsmen in Lagos gave a recap of anti smuggling activities undertaken by Operation Whirlwind, a body set out to combat fuel smuggling.
He disclosed that there has been a reduction in the vice as his team ensured operational clampdown on fuel stations, tankers, transporters and others involved in the smuggling activities
He spoke shortly after showing some recent premium motor spirit seizures in Lagos
Q:Was any arrest made for this particular seizure?
No arrests was made. Incidentally, smugglers keep devising means and most of these items were confiscated at different flashpoints like Ilaro, Oja Agbe, Ijoun,Badagry.But, one spurious thing there is that they don’t go to the filling station directly to fill the jerrycans again. They find a way to take it close to the bush. It will be put inside jerrycans, hidden somewhere, then they’ll look for vehicles to move them across.It is on intelligence that we got most of these things. So far, no arrests this time and no means of conveyance was seized.
Q:If they don’t get to the filling stations, how do they get their jerrycans filled?
They have these jerrycans. A pictorial example is what happened in Kwara, in the bush, where they hid a lot of jerrycans. Then, they will bring a small tanker to fill the jerrycans.When they fill the jerrycans, they will look for a vehicle, a close-by vehicle that will move it out.
Q: Smuggling petroleum has become recurring. Will you say it’s increasing or decreasing?
I can say that there is a drop in fuel smuggling and a lot of factors can be attributed to that. One of it is the price differential now. It is high.Very few of them can afford it and that is the reason why when we arrest, we hand the filling station over to Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to sanction them.
The moment they are sanctioned, it’s either their license is withdrawn or they are suspended. That is why they devised another means. When they get the product, they put it in a lesser tank and take them into the bush to fill and move from there.It has reduced drastically, not only in Lagos, but everywhere. I’m not saying there is no smuggling, but the quantum has drastically reduced.
Q: If you want to compare the level of smuggling of this petroleum product between the north and the south, which is higher?
Comparatively, we have a drop here. Obviously too , up-north, we have drops.With what we have on our data right now, it is still higher up-north than here but not as high as what it used to be when we started.
Q:Can we do a recap on your activities in 2024 so far, looking at removal of fuel subsidy, and the consistency of these people?
As it stands now, we have one case in Adamawa. In Lagos here, we granted bail to two and that’s three.In Sokoto, Kebbi, I think we had five on bail. The ones that we have started dealing with the case properly ,is that of Adamawa. By January, we’ll be in court again. When it comes to quantum of arrests, I cannot give the exact figure because I can’t be that sure right now. But I know comparatively, we handed over about 16 tankers to NMDPRA in Adamawa alone.
In Kano, we handed over about four tankers to NMDPRA. In Kwara, we handed over about three to NMDPRA. In Lagos , we handed over close to five or six filling stations to NMDPRA. In Kebbi, we handed over ten filling stations. In Lagos, I guess it’s ten filling stations. In Sokoto, Kebbi, we handed over close to four or five filling stations because one should be from Sokoto and four from Kebbi.
For those two tankers that were found to have diverted, if you are caught and your crime is diversion, we hand you over to NMDPRA. If you are caught selling or dispensing into jerry cans for unwanted transmission outside Nigeria, we’ll call NMDPRA, they will seal up the filling station, and we’ll hand over the filling station to them. We will then take custody of the product as an evidence of smuggling.
Q:What is your message to Nigerians right now on this issue?
I am telling Nigerians to be wary of economic saboteurs.Fuel smuggling has great danger for our economy.Thanks to the Federal Government, fuel is available everywhere and as a matter of fact, filling stations are begging people to come and buy.It is still not too good for us to lose our record of trade with our neighbouring countries because we will not be able to have record of our balance of trade and that will affect our data and our economic indices for proper planning.
