Customs intercepts smuggled rice near Sango rice market Tuesday

“This is what we are saying. They tell us that they hike the price of rice because of Customs.  Far before Customs came to raid their market here, we had been buying rice from them at very exorbitant price.  And when they were told that they were selling smuggled rice, they said it was a lie that the bags of rice that were taken away from their shops from their trade.  How can you do trade breaking the law and causing hardship to the people?  For the fact that these people still smuggle rice into this same market means that probably the rice sellers in the market have just made up their mind that they will never obey the law of the country.”

Barely 35 days after operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) stormed the Sango rice market in Sango-Ijoko Local Council Development Area of Ogun State and took away 1,870 bags of rice and kegs of groundnut oil said to have been smuggled into the market, men of Customs were seen Tuesday evening intercepting another smuggled bags of rice some few kilometers to the same market.

The interception occurred between the first roundabout at Ansar-Ud-Deen Comprehensive High School, Ota and the Sango Bridge roundabout in Sango around 4.15pm on Tuesday.

It would be recalled that leaders of the market, following the Customs’ raid the last time, had accused the paramilitary agents of breaking 60 shops carting away over 18,000 bags of rice and kegs of ground oil, an allegation the Customs swiftly debunked saying not only that it did not break into any shop talk less that its men would break 60 shops within the one hour of raid but also that it did not take 18,000 bags of rice from the market.

The Customs said it only broke into the warehouse in the Sango rice market which it had monitored for quite sometimes to be the destination of smuggled rice and groundnut oil through the Idiroko axis over the times, adding that it only took 1,870 bags of rice as against the 18,000 bags claimed by the leader of the market.

The latest interception of another smuggler’s car bearing bags of rice almost arriving the same market was witnessed by our reporter, who for security reason took cover but kept his eyes glued on the scene from a little distance for fear that there might be exchange of bullets.  Although no shooting occurred for the few minutes he stood around until the time he left.

Efforts made to find out if there was any such case reported at the Ikeja Zonal Headquarters of Customs on Tuesday was not yet successful as at the time of filing this report.

Some of the people around expressed mixed feelings about the incident.  One of them said in Yoruba, “See Customs again, what do they expect us to eat if they continue to seize rice from these business people?”  He did not however say if he agreed that the food that he wanted to eat should be sourced from illegal means.

While that comment came from a single person around, about some few others were heard saying the same thing bothering on why the smugglers should continue to smuggle rice into the same market where their leaders had denied ever having anything to do with smuggled products when Customs raided the place about a month ago.

One particular person, whose name is unknowned, said, “This is what we are saying. They tell us that they hike the price of rice because of Customs.  Far before Customs came to raid their market here, we had been buying rice from them at very exorbitant price.  And when they were told that they were selling smuggled rice, they said it was a lie that the bags of rice that were taken away from their shops from their trade.  How can you do trade breaking the law and causing hardship to the people?  For the fact that these people still smuggle rice into this same market means that probably the rice sellers in the market have just made up their mind that they will never obey the law of the country,” he said.