Col. Hameed Ali-led Customs fires on in spite of legislative distrust: An analytical report

*Reveals owners of arms importation firm

*Customs’ zero tolerance for illegal importations may be reason for IPOB creeation – Investigations

By Kemi Kasumu, General Editor

Unwavering Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd), may have been wearing insultive-word-proof garments as none has touched him, his attitude to public service in the interest of the nation shows, of the denigrations and unprintable banters thrown at him from no other than the side of some members of the Second Estate of the Realm for carrying out his duties as assigned in his terms of appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The beauty of the struggle for saving the soul of Nigeria which started with General Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) Federal Government following its defeat of elusive Transformation Agenda on March 28, 2015 is that, much as members of the Third Estate (Judges and Lawyers including “human rights activists”) on one side and those of the Fourth Estate of the Realm (media) on the other side were committed to the fight against the struggle being driven by the Change Regime, there have been quite an impressive number of members of those Estates who are well on ground in support of positive change, no matter unheard they were virtually rendered by the vocal few using their influence in the Fourth Estate and money.

The Second Estate of the Realm led by its leadership had staged a mockery of Col. Ali, who had come up with an import policy to save Nigerian diversified economy from the killing hands of smugglers, who preferred to service the economy of neighbouring Benin Republic by landing or berthing their imported consignments in that Francophone country paying due tariffs only to now make frantic efforts equipped with support of some corrupt, unpatriotic customs officials, weapons and charms to fight their way in a bid to smuggle those consignments they duly paid for in Benin into their own country Nigeria, without paying a kobo into its economy. Yet findings revealed that by whatever standard, importing through Benin is still costlier than importing directly to Nigeria, but those Nigerians chose to prefer Benin, and findings further revealed that they are Nigerians who would do anything to ensure that Nigeria ceased to exist as a united nation.

It is therefore perceived that the challenges faced by Ali on the floors of the Senator Bukola Saraki-led Senate then was caused largely by the fact of his zero tolerance for illegal importation of things like weapons, expired tyres, drugs and substandard finished goods, as well as underdeclared imported cars which importers of particular section of the country are known more to be involved with. It is also therefore no wonder that each time Hameed Ali was to be summoned to Senate plenary, Saraki vacated his seat leaving the leadership of Senate in the hands of Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, who exploited it well for the purpose of his own Igbo politics regardless of whether Nigeria benefited or not.

Up till today, apart from the information that Ali had at his own pace made available over the import policy which many sane and patriotic Nigerians worked with, what the Senate claimed it wanted to achieve with the summon of the former Military Governor of Kaduna State now Customs CG paved to nothing as Ekweremadu, a lawyer, without regard to the provisions of the laws, persistently frustrated the opportunity that Nigerians would have had to have the Customs top man explain the policy to them through their Senate representatives. That was if the summon was well intentioned in the first place because many viewed it as lacking commonsense that insistence on Ali wearing uniform would be Ekweremadu’s yardstick for allowing the intellectually equipped retired Army officer to explain the policy to Nigerians.

It will be recalled that while Ekweremadu and his other South East and South South Senators were doing their mockery of Ali in the Senate, an “Ali Must Go” protest rally was heavily staged in Anambra State, only one, among 36 states of Nigeria. That suggested where the opposition to the Buhari’s administration anti-smuggling policy for the love of country was coming from. That followed with now very intensified activities of IPOB which had already declared a State of Biafra hoisting its flag within the Sovereign State of Nigeria. Boko Haram which did it earlier will never forget their Northern people-aided defeat in a hurry.

Recently also, having been convinced through well conducted investigations that the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) may have been supported, encouraged and funded by governors, Federal officers and traditional rulers of the South East region, The DEFENDER in an Editorial had called on President Buhari to declare a state of emergency in any state where IPOB would henceforth cause breakdown of law and order. That was also because Igbo public officers, excluding the governor of Imo, Ministers of the government, funded with Nigerian money had spoken publicly in support of the IPOB until it was declared terrorist. Even Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu got worse with the support for IPOB, State declaration of it as terrorist organisation not withstanding.

Sooner to that, Federal Government began to take step by deploying mobile police officers and men across South East and South South. It was later followed up with an Exercise Egwu Ekwe II (Operation Python Dance II) mounted by troops of the Nigerian Army. Facts of brains behind the so-called agitations over marginalisation coming from the South East then started coming out when Federal Government started to take action. Many beneficiaries of Nigerian goodwill like Professors Charles Soludo, Pat Utomi, etc, were announced into the cabinet of the newly declared S

“State of Biafra” and till the press time, they did not reject the offers. Governors too started backing them publicly until they took a u-turn seeing that Buhari government meant business to deal with the senselessness of the youths they let lose threatening the peace and unity of the nation for no just cause.

But Ekweremadu did not relent. Much so that even the statement that seemed to be pushing Senate President Saraki to his political grave over his support for IPOB was said to have been inserted in his mouth by Ekweremadu and he delivered the statement publicly because Igbo Senators led by Ekweremadu, in continuation of their hate for Buhari government, were his support base.

Saraki in the statement had declared that the proscription by South East governors and classification of IPOB as “militant terrorist organisation” unconstitutional. In trying to say that he was misconstrued by the statement, Saraki did not come even softer as he boasted that whoever was criticising him on that statement should keep his cool.

With revelations currently from customs of the nature of marine crimes and kind of people caught to be perpetrators of the crimes, one is justified to say that IPOB cannot be far away from those crimes of imported weapons intercepted by Hameed Ali and that the determination of IPOB to “burn down Nigeria” cannot be far from the zero tolerance of the government for smuggling of illegal products and weapons into the country. It can therefore be understandable, away from the cries of marginalisation that is unfounded. But which country in the world will allow illegal importation or smuggling of contraband like weapons, expired tyres, expired and adultrated drugs and petroleum prodycts into its territory?

The Federal Government of President Muhammadu Buhari has been given a thumb up to continue with its mission as planned and is currently executed in the South East and South South with Operations Python Dance II and Crocodile Smile, respectively, and they, including the International Communities, are saying that Buhari, whose recent sudden sickness could not be unconnected with his zero tolerance for corruption, impunity and economic terrorism, should go ahead without minding whose ox is gored. This reporter concurs.

How Customs uncovered one of such marine criminals

Customs said that it had discovered the owners of firm fingered in illegal importation of arms into the country earlier last week.

It said they are three individuals with residences in Abuja and Lagos.

The Nigeria Customs Service, on Thursday, named Great James Oil and Gas Ltd as the importer of the haul of 470 guns that was impounded at the Tin Can Island port last week, a week after a consignment of 1,100 weapons belonging to the same firm was seized at the same port.

The Comptroller-General, Col Hameed Ali (rtd), said Great James Oil and Gas Ltd used a vessel, AVS Arkas Africa, to ferry the weapons into Nigeria. The Customs boss did not name the owners of the company.

Investigations revealed that Ayogu Cyril, Ayogu Kelvin and Ayogu Great James registered the oil firm as its directors on July 20, 2011. The company was registered with RC 968675.

The three directors used residential addresses in Kaura District of the Federal Capital Territory and Bariga area in Lagos, respectively, to register the business.

Cyril and Great James gave the address of a residential apartment, Suite 4, 4th Avenue, Prince and Princess Estate in Kaura District, Abuja while Kelvin gave the address of a residential apartment at No. 25 Bariga Road.

When our reporters visited the address in Abuja yesterday, a guard informed them that the male occupant was at home with his wife. But he declined their request to speak with his employer, holding that his boss was not expecting any visitor.

A vehicle was seen parked in front of the building.

The guard, and another adult male, denied knowledge of the said oil and gas firm or the occupant’s link to it. He later went in and returned with a response, saying his boss was equally unaware of the said firm.

Other people spoken to in the area said they had no knowledge of what the occupant was doing for a living, and others doubted if he had a firm named Great James Oil and Gas Ltd. “The owner is from the South-East, but his name is not James Ayogu or Cyril Ayogu and it is strange the company you associate with him,” a resident of the area said.

At No 25, Bariga Road, in the Bariga Local Development Area of Lagos State, given as the residence of Kelvin is a brown one-storey affair of six three bedroom apartments.

Checks by Daily Trust on Sunday showed the building is mainly residential.

All but one of the tenants were out when our correspondent visited there yesterday. A chat with the only person, who wouldn’t give his name, said Kelvin actually lived there but had packed out to his own house about two years ago. He said he didn’t know the address of Kelvin’s present residence.

On Thursday, the Customs CG said the firm used the elbow plumbing plastic that it declared in the bill of lading to deceive officials about the concealed weapons.

He said the 470 weapons were found after officers had subjected the 20-foot container No. CMAU189817/8 to 100 per cent examination.

A meeting was scheduled Friday between Nigerian officials and their Turkish counterparts to discuss the rise in arms shipment to Nigeria from Turkey.

A total of 2,671 rifles, in four batches, were seized within the last eight months, all coming from Turkey, according to the Nigeria Customs Service.

Hameed Ali said his agency and other security outfits were investigating the reasons for the massive importation of arms into the country.

“We are yet to get to the bottom of the whole thing. Are these arms meant for commercial purposes, or meant to be given to a group of insurgents or agitators and kidnappers?” he said.