Ogun Area 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Thursday, has appealed to the state chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) to join hands with the Federal Government so as to stop the menace of smuggling in the Gateway State.
The Comptroller for Ogun 1 Area Command, Dera Nnadi, spoke on Thursday while he received members of the council at the Command’s headquarters in Idiroko border.
Nnadi pleaded with the youth leaders to make good use of their positions in order to educate fellow youths not only on the menace of smuggling, but also on other cross-border crimes.
The customs boss regretted that Ogun had been tagged as a war zone as some youths wage war with the Federal Government in its efforts at actualising the objectives of growing the nation’s economy.
Earlier, the NYCN officials, led state Chairman, Abdul-Jabar Ayelaagbe, appealed to customs desist from the habit of “indiscriminate gunshots within towns,” each time they were on the trail of smugglers, especially within towns in the Ogun West axis of the state.
Ayelaagbe said a number of lives had been lost due to indiscriminate shooting of firearms within the towns by NCS anti-smuggling operatives.
However, the controller responded that the service and the Federal Government would appreciate the support of the youths towards actualising the objectives of eradicating smuggling activities in Ogun.
While not conceding that smuggling was as a result of unemployment, Nnadi asked the youths to avail themselves of the opportunities provided by the ongoing recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Customs Service to better their careers in life.
He added that “the NCS always accords high priorities to nativity of the border communities each time it is recruiting.”
