Insecurity Affecting Revenue Generation – Customs

The Nigeria Customs Service said insecurity is negatively affecting its revenue generation.

The Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs and Zonal Coordinator, Zone B, Kaduna, Nsikak Patrick Umoh, disclosed this on Wednesday during a tour of the Niger/Kogi Area Command Headquarters in Minna, Niger, where she met with vehicle importers to discuss the command’s operational challenges.

Umoh said the security challenge had affected several Customs commands, particularly across the North-West, where officers are increasingly exposed to threats in the course of performing their duties.

“The security challenge is not peculiar to only Niger/Kogi Area Command. A whole of North-West comprising Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Zamfara States, which are all under my command, are facing the same security challenge,” she said.

Umoh said the resultant effect was that some Customs officers had been killed or maimed, while others had been forced to limit their operations because of fear for their lives.

She explained that the situation had contributed to a reduction in revenue collections in some commands, as officers were compelled to adopt more cautious approaches to their operations.

“But we are trying our best to encourage them to use an intelligence-based operating system to do their job, and that is why in most of the commands, we have a reduction in revenue collections,” the ACG added.

Umoh said insecurity was also taking a toll on the health of Customs personnel, with some officers developing hypertension due to fear of death.

She said despite the challenges, the Niger/Kogi Area Command had continued to record strong revenue performance, surpassing its monthly target of N17 million.

She disclosed that the command had generated more than N200 million as of August 12.(Daily trust)