By Mustapha Sumaila
Abuja – The Joint Security Operatives, code named ‘Exercise SWIFT Response’, has seized items valued at N7.3 billion in seven months of partial border closure by the Federal Government.
The Customs’ Public Relations Officer, Mr Joseph Attah, who is the spokesperson of the operatives, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.
Attah explained that the operatives arrested 697 illegal migrants and seized 86,602 of 50kg bags of parboiled foreign rice.
He said 695 bags of NPK fertilizer, 1,172 vehicles, 2,997 drums filled with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 16,771 empty 200 litre Drums of PMS, 90 engine boats; 68 drums of groundnut oil were intercepted.
He added that 26 trucks of 33,000 litres of PMS, 14,604 Jerricans of PMS, 656 motorcycles, 15,089 Jerricans of PMS, vegetable oil; among other items were seized.
The spokesperson noted that the exercise had continued to yield positive results and had saved the country huge resources and enhanced national security.
“For instance, the importation of drugs and proliferation of small arms and light weapons which usually fuel terrorism and other forms of criminality in the country has been considerably curtailed.
“Meanwhile, the agricultural sector has also received a boost due to the restriction placed on the importation of rice and other prohibited food items.
“Nonetheless, Nigeria remains committed to ongoing diplomatic engagements to finding lasting solutions to the concerns that necessitated the partial border closure.
“It would be recalled that apart from the ongoing Tripartite Technical Committee meetings comprising Nigeria, Benin and Niger Republic; Ministers in charge of ECOWAS Affairs and Trade of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Togo met on February 15, 2020 at Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to assess the partial border closure and its impact on the sub-region.
“Overall, the government is fully committed to the recommendations of the respective Committees,” he added.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) announced the constitution of joint security operatives in August 2019 in the North-West, North-Central, South-West, and South-South geopolitical zones.
(NAN)
