The Comptroller- General of Nigeria Customs and Excise, Col Hameed Ali (rtd), has warned officers of the agency to desist from acts of indiscipline and corruption.
Ali spoke at Idiroko in Ipokia local government during a familiarisation tour of Ogun Area Customs Command.
He urged men of the command to adhere strictly to the rules and regulations of the agency in the discharge of their duties.
He said: “The basic thing is discipline especially in a Para-military organisation like ours; without discipline nothing can be achieved.
“I want to say that in customs service today, discipline is lacking. I am not saying that all the officers are undisciplined but some of those that are undisciplined are the one giving us a bad name.
“Enforcement is lacking, people commit infractions. Many of our men collect money under the table and that creates the impression that we are corrupt in the eyes of the public.”
The Customs boss went on: “Henceforth, there would be zero tolerance for corruption and indiscipline.
“When you do any of these things mentioned, we would punish you. Any officer caught taking bribe or conniving with smugglers would not only be charged to court and jailed but would also forfeit their illegally acquired property.”
Ali also warned Customs officers to desist from rejecting new postings and training programmes.
According to him: “Under no circumstances must any officer refuse to be posted or refuse to go to where he or she has been asked to serve.
“You should desist from refusing to attend courses because training is also part of career development and uplift.
“Promotion shall henceforth be based on courses attended, promotion examination and evaluation of performance.”
Ali went on: “I have also discovered that some officers have been promoted two steps above their colleagues because they have godfathers; that would henceforth stop because it is setting the service on the path of indiscipline.
“Officers will be moved or redeployed every three years and gone are the days when junior officers would look at their senior colleague and spew out words of insubordination without being punished.
“Officers must strictly adhere and apply the law governing our operations at all times. My parting words are that you must have integrity, be honest and transparent.
“When you imbibe these three virtues, chances of going wrong in the discharge of duty will be minimised.”
The leadership of licensed freight forwarders in Idiroko community called for rehabilitation of major roads leading in and out of the border area as well as reduce import duty.
Ali urged them to comply with the federal government’s policy on import duty for a mutually beneficial relationship with Customs service.