In a shift from past practices, the Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun I Command at Idiroko, has embraced mediation and community engagement to combat smuggling, moving away from violent confrontations.<\/p>\n
Comptroller Godwin Otunla, the Area Controller, revealed in an interview with a group of journalists that his command now works closely with traditional rulers and community leaders to discourage youths from engaging in smuggling. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve chosen to engage community leaders to speak to their youths. We want them to pursue legitimate businesses instead of breaking the law,\u201d Otunla said.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that the command is determined to avoid violent enforcement, stating: \u201cWe don\u2019t want a return to the era of killings. Mediation is now our tool to suppress smuggling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Otunla highlighted the lack of infrastructure and economic opportunities in the region \u2014 from Owode to Idiroko \u2014 as a major driver of smuggling. He identified lack of factories or industries, poor electricity supply, and high youth unemployment as problems in the area.<\/p>\n
These conditions, he noted, make smuggling an attractive option for many young people.<\/p>\n
Despite receiving support from Customs headquarters, Otunla said the command still needs more patrol vehicles to effectively monitor the border. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re like Oliver Twist \u2014 asking for more. Every patrol team needs at least one operational vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n
He confirmed that the command is well-equipped with weapons and does not face challenges in that area.<\/p>\n
Otunla acknowledged that smuggling cannot be completely eliminated, given the porous nature of borders worldwide. <\/p>\n
\u201cEven if we spread our arms around the border, they\u2019ll still try to pass underneath. We can\u2019t stop it entirely \u2014 only reduce it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He praised the Department of State Services (DSS) for providing intelligence on community sentiment, especially when unrest is brewing.<\/p>\n
The command operates on generators and solar power due to unreliable electricity. Otunla also addressed the negative perception of Customs officers in border communities: <\/p>\n
\u201cTax collectors are never loved. We\u2019re seen as enemies. Everyone wants to join Customs, yet everyone claims to hate Customs. We\u2019re soft targets, so we protect ourselves carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a shift from past practices, the Nigeria Customs Service, Ogun I Command at Idiroko, has embraced mediation and community engagement to combat smuggling, moving away from violent confrontations. Comptroller Godwin Otunla, the Area Controller, revealed in an interview with a group of journalists that his command now works closely with traditional rulers and community […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8835"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8838,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8835\/revisions\/8838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}