Barely three months after President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the closure of all land borders in the country, the Federal Government says it has seized over N2.3tn worth of contraband as a result of the intensive joint border patrol by security agencies.
The exercise, code-named Exercise Swift Response, is being coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser and the team comprises the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army. The spokesperson for the Joint Border Security Exercise and National Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Customs Service, Joseph Attah, listed the seized items to include guns, ammunition, rice, vehicles, drugs and jerrycans of petrol.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on August 20 ordered a partial closure of Nigeria’s land borders in order to check smuggling of contraband into the country through the neighbouring countries. But, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Thursday, Attah said the joint border security, consisting of all the agencies working together, had recorded some achievements, while the NCS as a separate entity had recorded some feats as well.
