Since its establishment two years ago, not less than N3.6 billion worth of petroleum products billed to be smuggled across the nation’s border corridors have been intercepted by Operation Whirlwind (OPSWW), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the National Co-ordinator, OPSWW, Deputy Comptroller Abubakar Lucky Aliyu has said.
Aliyu disclosed this at a two-day stakeholders’ workshop on joint collaboration which took place at Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State recently.
The workshop with the theme ‘strengthening inter-agency coordination and Operational Effectiveness in Combatting the Cross-Border Diversion and Smuggling of Petroleum products’ was attended by officers in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), NCS, Nigerian Navy (NN), and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The National Co-ordinator who presented NCS position paper at the workshop went memory lane as he highlighted the history, operational structure, achievements and challenges of OPSWW, as well as strategies for addressing emerging threats.
The presentation also highlighted the roles of intelligence, legal and geospatial units in strengthening enforcement and accountability in the discharge of OPSWW mandate across the country.
Maritime Bits checks revealed that the participation of NN and NMDPRA in the workshop as key stakeholders, reinforced the emphasis on joint intelligence sharing, coordinated operations and effective regulatory response.
Aliyu’s presentation also identified sophisticated smuggling networks, porous borders, difficult terrain, limited surveillance assets and attacks on operatives among the challenges confronting enforcement.
As a way out, he recommended enhanced personnel training, intelligence-led operations, deployment of drones and other modern technologies, improved logistics, stronger prosecution, public awareness and sustained inter-agency collaboration.
