No fewer than 8,000 bags of rice worth over N56 million are smuggled into the country daily, it was learnt, over the weekend. They are smuggled through Ere River in Ado–Odo/Ota in Ogun State.
The river, which links the country with Cotonou to Owode-Apa and Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, also links Gbaji and Badagry Lagoon up to the Atlantic Ocean.
When The Nation visited the area last week, locally made boats carrying more than 1,000 bags of rice each, were being used to ferry the commodity into the country.
Ere River is a rice smuggling point, yet to be discovered by Customs and other security officials posted to the area.
The boats were seen offloading rice to vehicles that would carry them to places, such as Agbara, Sango-Ota, Ifo and Alaba-Rago Market, Iyana-Ipaja.
The smugglers have been using the river for their illicit business for years.
A motorcyclist, who took The Nation’s reporter to the river, alleged that some Customs officials are aware of the smugglers’ activities, but are handicapped because of the calibre of the people involved.
“The reason I agreed to take you there is to tell you that there is nothing government can do to stop smuggling unless those in power provide employment for the youth.
“I graduated from the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education more than six years ago but I have not been able to secure employment since I finished from the school. I make my money through the number of rice I convey to the market per day.
“I am not the only youth involved; we are many. We use our motorcycles to survey where the Customs are staying at a particular time before we ask our vehicles to bring the rice to the road.
“If you counted the number of people we met at that place, you will notice that they are no fewer than 80 and they are more than that. A majority of them are ex-security officers and the few serving ones have access to arms and ammunition and that was why I told you that it would be dangerous for you to use your camera.
“The people you saw there are very deadly and they have wasted so many people that have threatened their business,” he said.
A Customs officer from the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) of Zone A at Agbara-Lusada road, said the Customs mounted surveillance in the areas because it suspects the smugglers have a hide-out there.
Several bags of rice, he said, have been intercepted by hire teams on the axis.
“Although, I don’t know where the river you mentioned is located, but we cannot deny that smuggling is going on around this place and that is why many of our officers have been posted to curtail the unpatriotic activities of the smugglers.
“My experience since I was posted to this area is that there is the need for the Federal Executive Council and the Minister of Finance to address the issue of high port charges, which created incentive for tariff avoidance and smuggling, and support the good efforts of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi.
“Those of us posted to curb the nefarious activities of smugglers in the border areas are not finding it easy.
“It is a difficult task because a majority of those involved are youths from the area and they know the area very well. Don’t forget that we, security officials, are strangers and we are not expected to detect all the routes that smugglers use in a few days. So, if you have detected a new route, it is your duty as a journalist to inform us before telling the public,” the officer said.
The smugglers’ activities, was also learnt, are crippling the business of those importing the commodity through the ports.
Last year, the country was said to have lost N16.3 billion to smuggling.
A Customs officer at a check point mounted by the Customs before the Agbara Bridge popularly called death trap (Koto Orun) told The Nation that the number of youths now into smuggling has grown because of unemployment.
Smuggled goods include second hand vehicles, textile materials, used cloths, bags, shoes, tyres, rice, frozen chicken, frozen turkey, vegetable oil, soap, furniture sweets, cigarettes, apples, pineapple and palm oil.
