Sesi Oluwaseun Whingan, the lawmaker representing Badagry Federal Constituency, has moved a motion asking the the House of Representatives to launch an investigation into the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) following multiple smuggling revelations by ‘Fisayo Soyombo, founder and editor-in-chief of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).
The ‘motion of urgent public importance’, introduced during Wednesday’s plenary session, seeks to address issues sabotaging Nigeria’s economic stability and border security.
MOTION: Need to Investigate the Activities of the Nigeria Customs Service.Earlier today, I moved a motion in the House of Representatives calling for an investigation into the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) over reports of complicity in mass smuggling, such as the illegal… pic.twitter.com/qGc8w7ZAQw— Hon. Sesi Oluwaseun Whingan (@sesiseun) December 11, 2024
Whingan lamented that farmers are unable to compete with the flood of smuggled goods entering the country.
His motion titled, Need to Investigate the Activities of the Nigeria Customs Service, raised concerns about the illegal transport of 6.5 million kilograms of rice and over 2,000 cars through the Badagry border, revealed by Soyombo, as well as incidents of harassment and brutality against citizens and traders.
READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Nigeria Customs Smuggling Terrorist Motorcyles, Hard Drugs Into Northern Nigeria
Citing the Nigeria Customs Service Act, he moved the motion as one of urgent public importance. Whinigan said:
The House further notes that the recent report by Sahara Reporters [based on Soyombo’s tweet] on November 18, 2024 exposed the mass smuggling of over 2000 cars carrying 6.5 million Kg of rice through Badagry under the watch of some customs officer
Videos published by investigative journalist ‘Fisayo Soyombo provides evidence of complicity of the Customs Service in these illegal activities.
The house also notes that reportes of brutality have emerged along the Badagry-Seme express way on December 1, 2024 where officers from the Nigeria Customs Service in collaboration with soldiers violently assualted two transporters, Taofeek Olatunbosun and Rafiu Abdulmaleek. The victims were suspected of documenting smuggling activities, leading to threats against their lives and a standoff that required intervention from residents and the police.
After Whingan’s motion, Abbas Tajudeen, the Speaker, out the motion to a voice vote that was won by the ayes. He therefore referred the motion to the House Committee on Defence, Customs and Excise for further legislative action.
This development comes after the Soyombo’s undercover investigation on smuggling published in February by FIJ.
FIJ had released the trailer of the investigation — ‘Undercover as a Smuggler’ — by Soyombo on February 20, and followed it up with a multimedia story on Wednesday February 21 and a 16-minute documentary on Thursday February 22.
The nearly two-year-long work detailed how smugglers, working in collaboration with Customs officials, bypassed border security to bring contraband, including rice, motorcycles for terrorists, weapons, and hard drugs, into Nigeria.
Through his investigation and follow-up interview with Channels Television, he revealed how arrests by the NCS were often limited to those who failed to pay bribes.
READ MORE: VIDEO: Customs Officers Act as Smuggler Ope Oloko’s Agents, Torture Suspected Whistleblowers in Badagry
After the undercover investgation and accompanying documentary, Soyombo continued share evidence of corruption and smuggling within the Customs Service on his X page via what is now fondly known in social media circles as ‘Good morning, Nigeria Customs’.
FIJ has also published follow-up reports on smuggling.
THE ‘GOOD MORNING’ TWEETS
Good morning, @CustomsNG.
I know you are aware already; I am aware too, and Nigerians will also become aware, by virtue of this tweet: IBD Dende smuggled seven vehicles into the country overnight, just a few hours ago while the rest of us were asleep.
The vehicles came in via…
— ‘Fisayo Soyombo (@fisayosoyombo) April 4, 2024
A number of Soyombo’s ‘good morning’ tweets — a series of early-morning notes drawing public attention to the rot in the customs service — indicted Hussein Ejibunu, who was subsequently removed as the Controller, Federal Operations Unit Zone A, Ikeja, Lagos, and relocated to Abuja. Notably, in one of the last acts of smuggling by IBD Dende under Ejigbunu’s watch, three 2024 Toyota landcruisers and four white coaster buses were smuggled into Lagos in the wee hours of April 4.
READ MORE: Undercover as a Smuggler
Good morning, @CustomsNG.
In case you did not know, the smuggling of three 2024 Toyota land cruisers and four white coaster buses into the country two nights ago by IBD Dende was executed with the express say-so of Hussein Ejigbunu, Comptroller, Federal Operations Unit Zone A —… pic.twitter.com/dzzGoNWyzX
— ‘Fisayo Soyombo (@fisayosoyombo) April 5, 2024
Notably, on April 2, Soyombo had tweeted about how Customs officers led by Patrick Odion, the OC Operations for Ajegunle-Ilaro Road, Ogun State, broke into a house in Oja-Odan, carting away 155 bags of rice, none of which he declared to Customs.
WATCH: DOCUMENTARY: Undercover as a Smuggler
Good morning, @CustomsNG. In your Easter message yesterday, accompanied by a picture of Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, the Comptroller General of Customs, you described smuggling as “a criminal act that is detrimental to our national development”.
If smugglers are criminals, what then… pic.twitter.com/WMAGfFAWhG
— ‘Fisayo Soyombo (@fisayosoyombo) April 2, 2024
Earlier, he had tweeted about how a Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC) Sabo, the OC Operation for border drills in Ogun State, was summoned to Abuja for selling off one half of smuggled rice he seized in Badagry while delivering the other half to the NCS, and how his patrol vehicles often escorted IBD Dende’s motorcycles out of Ilaro and Oja-Odan until their arrival in Oyo for onward movement to the North.
Good morning, @CustomsNG. I am aware that last week, you summoned Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC) Sabo, the OC Operation for border drills in Ogun State, to Abuja where he is facing disciplinary action for selling off one half of smuggled rice he seized in Badagry while…
— ‘Fisayo Soyombo (@fisayosoyombo) April 1, 2024
Soyombo’s ‘good morning’ tweets so rankled the ranks of the NCS that they hatched an ultimately futile plan to raise over 15,000 tweets against him.
READ MORE: IBD Dende Sends IGP After FIJ
Good morning, @CustomsNG. I am aware of ongoing plans in your organisation to raise over 15,000 tweets against me. It is unfortunate that you consider most of my tweets “done in bad faith” and that I am “fronting for a group determined to pull the Service down by all means… pic.twitter.com/I6SIzqjliQ
— ‘Fisayo Soyombo (@fisayosoyombo) March 25, 2024
When he finally suspended the one-man social-media campaign against Customs-aided smuggling and sabotage of national security and economy, he put up a one-stop compilation of all he and FIJ had written on Customs in six weeks.
I promised a one-stop compilation of everything @fijnigeria and I wrote on Customs in six weeks.
From the trailer of ‘Undercover As a Smuggler’, to my final-day tweets on the smuggled SUVs, this thread documents almost everything I said about Customs, smuggling and gun-running👇
— ‘Fisayo Soyombo (@fisayosoyombo) April 11, 2024
His resumption of the good-morning tweets in November extended to Badagry this time, consequently drawing Whingan’s attention.
The post BREAKING: Finally, Reps to Probe Nigeria Customs Over Soyombo’s Smuggling Revelations appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.