28th March, 2011
Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone ’ A’ of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Deputy Comptroller Victor Dimka, has warned stakeholders who take delight in blackmailing and maligning the Nigeria Customs Service to desist .
Dimka, who stated this in a chat with newsmen, said the NCS management will no longer hesitate to bring down the full weight of the law on any one making unsubstantiated allegations against the agency.
The Customs Service, according to him, is ready to protect its image and that of its officers.
“People will accuse people of what they have not done. And that is because we are stepping on toes. That is also because you are dealing with the means of livelihood of people. So, you don’t expect them to laugh with you or be friends with you. If smugglers will carry arms to fight you because you are seizing their goods, then blackmail, which is either through writing or verbal, is something easy for them to do, he said, adding; “We want to warn the general public that, as long as you blackmail the Nigeria Customs Service, you must be ready to substantiate your facts because we will not stop at cheap blackmail; we will get to the root of it and we will address it squarely.”
“If you know you have not done anything wrong, why do you give money even if you are asked to do that? There are some deviants among the security agencies who have chosen to compromise their integrity. But if honest declarations are made, security agencies will not even be at the port. And you know a thief will always look at the best way to beat whoever is going to arrest him. Agents did not bring about the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA), so nobody has the right to say that Customs should not perform its legal duties as long as you are smuggling or cutting corners by not paying the required duties as stipulated in the tariff,†Dimka stated.