The Sokoto/Zamfara Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has released 15 trucks of seized grains to their rightful owners on the condition that the items will be sold within Nigerian markets to enhance food security, according to a statement released on Tuesday by Abdullahi Abubakar, the command’s Public Relations Officer.
This action follows a directive from President Tinubu to return confiscated food items at border communities to their owners, emphasising that it must be on condition that the items are sold within Nigerian markets to enhance food security.
During the handover ceremony at the Sokoto headquarters, Kamal Mohammed, the Customs Area Comptroller, urged the traders to reciprocate President Bola Tinubu’s gesture of goodwill by selling the grains in Nigerian markets.
Kamal emphasized that the command, along with the Customs Intelligence Unit and the Joint Border Patrol Team, would closely monitor the sales to prevent any smuggling of the grains out of the country.
He further informed traders and the general public that grains are included on the extant Export Prohibition List.
The Comptroller warned against grain smuggling, stating that the service is committed to fighting smuggling in all its forms.
Kamal declared that the command would make the borders an “unsafe haven” for smugglers, targeting “unpatriotic elements who seek to profit at the expense of the country.”
In response, Dahiru Ladan, the Secretary of the Grain Sellers Association of Sokoto, expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for showing clemency.
He assured the president that the union would ensure the grains are sold within Nigerian markets.
