Three Nigeriens were yesterday
paraded by men of the Nigerian Customs for trying to smuggle N15 million cash
into the country. The money was hidden under the seats and footmats of a Honda
Academy vehicle with the three nationals of Niger Republic accompanying it. The
three suspects, Abdulrasheed Usman, 22, his brother Salisu, 21, and Bishir
Abdullahi,30, were paraded before newsmen in Katsina by the Comptroller of
Customs in-charge of Katsina/Kaduna Area Command, Yusuf Umar.
He confirmed that nothing was found in the
trunk of the car with Nigerian registration number, ABUJA 602 AE. He said that
the suspects could be financial agents of a Bureau De Change operator. He
stated that they took a bush path into Nigeria to evade scanning machines of
the Customs Service at Jibia international border. He stated that the suspects
contravened the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) of 2004 and the
Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act by failing to
declare amount to officers of the Customs. According to him, the relevant
provisions of the Act were aimed at prohibiting financing of terrorism and
laundering of the proceeds of a crime or an illegal act.
“The claim of these suspects in this
case that they are financial agents to Yaura BDP of Wapa, Kano, makes them
liable. Who is Yaura BDP, Wapa? Our investigation is ongoing to ascertain the
depth of involvement and occupational identity of the suspects. “The alibi of
collecting the money in Jibiya while not travelling with a Nigerian companion
cannot hold water. It is my sincere belief that the Nigeria Customs Service and
other relevant sister agencies will get to the root of this matter so as to
ascertain the purpose for the movement of this money,” the Comptroller
reportedly said in a prepared statement made available to reporters.
Hmmm,this is serious
