The Nigeria Navy forward
operating base (FOB) at Ibaka in Mbo local government area of Akwa Ibom has
arrested 24 suspects with 1,831 bags of smuggled rice.
Peter Yilme, the commanding
officer of the FOB, disclosed this to journalists in Ibaka, on Sunday.
Yilme said five wooden boats used
in smuggling the rice from Cameroon to Nigeria were also seized, and that the
arrest was made during routine operations by operatives in the past one month.
Yilme, who was represented by
Kabiru Yusuf, base operations officer, during the handing over of the suspects
and items to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), said the command would remain
steadfast in fighting criminals on Nigeria’s territorial waters in line with
the directive of the chief of naval staff.
Dauda Garuba, an officer of the
NCS, received the suspects and items from the navy.
Two of the suspects claimed they
were not told that they were to carry bags of rice from Cameroon to Nigeria
while another said he was told that he would be transporting fish.
He said it was when the rice was
loaded into the boat that he realised that he would not be conveying fish as
told.
The federal government closed
Nigeria’s land borders in August to check smuggling. While some Nigerians
condemned the action, other citizens praised the government’s initiative.
In October, the Gombe state
chapter of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) expressed its support
for the border closure, saying farmers in the country can produce enough rice
to feed Nigerians and to export.
Kalagar Lubo, state secretary of
RIFAN, said the closure is a positive development that will promote the
production of fresh locally made rice.
“With the extension of rains to
the end of October, the yield will be good. The home production is very good,
first it is fresh and the value is good. If the border is opened the farmer
will not have it good. When you buy a bag at N10,000, it will cost you just
N20,000 for two bags. When you go to the market, a bag of foreign rice is sold
at N18,000,” he had said.
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