NEWS
Nigeria’s Security Agencies Collaborate To Tackle Smuggling, Food Hoarding
In a coordinated effort, Nigeria’s Customs Service, Immigration, Department of State Services, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have joined forces to combat the rampant issues of smuggling and food hoarding across the country.
Responding to the urgency of the situation, President Bola Tinubu’s dedicated team has ramped up surveillance measures, particularly focusing on key border areas in Borno, Niger, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Jigawa states.
According to a source “There is an ongoing inter-agency operation involving the Customs, DSS, EFCC and other agencies. They moved to grain markets, especially markets around northern Nigeria, and they were able to discover large-scale smuggling of grains outside of Nigeria and most of these grains are actually being round-tripped. So, there are cartels specialised in round-tripping food items across Nigerian land borders.
“What they do is that they buy grains, say from Jigawa, enter into Niger Republic with them, then bring them back and sell at higher prices and they use foreign currencies, especially the CFA, so that they can be able to buy more food and then take it back to these countries and then bring back and sell here. So, it is a sophisticated smuggling chain. So, they (security agencies) have been able to bust a number of them.
“Now, the Federal Government has beefed up security across the borders to stop smuggling in Borno, Niger, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Jigawa states because these are the major dark spots. Even yesterday (Thursday) at the President’s meeting with governors, the Niger State governor raised an alarm about these same cartels. That was why he recently announced the banning of food moving outside of his state.”
The source further stated that Security agencies have uncovered substantial reserves of stored food items, particularly by prominent companies that assert their involvement in the production of animal feed and other products,
The source said, “One of the stores even contained about 50,000 tonnes of grains. A lot of the cartels have been busted in Kano, Borno and Katsina states. And in one grain market alone, five illegal Bureau De Change operators were discovered and arrested. They were exchanging CFAs and naira and were being used by these cartels to move money easily.
“The government is going through a process to ensure that harmful hoarding is stopped. Of course, storage is permitted…but hoarding that harms the economy and creates hardship and hunger is being stopped.”
Highlighting the ongoing efforts, Mr. Abdullahi Maiwada, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, emphasized that the service has adapted its strategies and bolstered monitoring systems at the borders.
He said, “Last week, the Comptroller-General of Customs held a meeting with all area comptrollers in the border areas and he has given marching orders to man these borders and ensure that there is no form of smuggling in their territories. It is emphatic that we are taking action.
“We have re-strategize. It will warrant our presence, the use of intelligence-driven operations, and our visibility in terms of increased patrol and non-kinetic approaches such as engagement.
“It is not all about using force or our physical arsenals to fight smuggling. We are also exploring engagement with the populace to tell them why they should not support smuggling. In the next few days, we will reveal further strategies we are taking.”
NEWS
Moghalu Prescribes Good Governance As Panacea To Ethnic Agitation
The President of the African School of Governance, Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu has admonished state actors against resorting to brutal force in the bid to muscle out separatist agitators.
In the aftermath of Mazi Simon Ekpa, the Finland based Biafran nationalist agitator being caught in legal web and the Nigerian government moving swiftly to seek his repatriation, the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned that ‘We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.’
ALSO READ: Finnish Police Arrest Simon Ekpa Over Terror-Related Allegations
The political economist, while expressing his hope in Nigeria, made it clear that “hope is not a strategy”.
He bared his mind in a series of posts on his verified handle on micro-blogging site, X on Friday.
Moghalu wrote, “Despite sustained contemporary difficulties, I am hopeful about Nigeria. But hope is not a strategy. We need to improve state capacity for effective governance.
“We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.
“We must learn to be honest with ourselves and address the root causes of our problems. Why ignore them, when the problem is actually quite solvable? The problem with continuing with this approach is that when the danger crystallizes, those who thought they were benefiting from
NEWS
N1.7trn Loan: Atiku Blames NASS For Worsening Nigeria’s Debt Burden
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
International News
ICC Issues Arrest Warrants For Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Others
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
READ MORE: Osun Govt Decries Attempted Murder Of Park Mgt Chairman By Police
The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.