Ibadan Market Invasion: Senate to summon Customs Comptroller-General

House surrenders to Senate

The Chairman Senate Committee on Local Content, Senator Teslim Folarin has said that the Senate will summon Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Colonel  Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd), over the invasion of some markets in Ibadan by Customs officers.

It would be recalled that NCS, Federal Operation Unit (FOU), Zone A had in April invaded Bodija market where about eight truckloads of rice were carted away.

Also same operational zone, in the early hours of Saturday, invaded Oja Oba Market in Ibadan, where six truckloads of rice were also carted away.

Folarin, while hosting Iftar (breaking of fast) with members of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by their Chairman, Alhaji Ismail Ademola Babalola, insisted that he received the news of the invasion of the market yesterday with shock.

Senator Teslim Folarin

He described the actions of the customs officers as barbaric and uncivilized.

Folarin who said that he has been discussing the matter with the leadership of the Senate advised Customs to arrest smugglers at the borders and not within the town.

According to him, “I was not happy and because the Customs is a federal agency, what I intend to do this week is to raise it.

“I am going to speak with the leadership, we are not happy. It calls for a motion. We are going to invite the Customs CG to come and explain their action.

They cannot do that, if you are going to arrest people, you should go and stay at the borders. Do not come to the town.

“So, if I have rice that I want to share with people and you will come and intercept it. Or if I have Okada and you come and burst it the way they did to my house the last time. It is not done, it is very uncivilized.”

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