Investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo’s constant expose and seeming attacks about the activities of smugglers in connivance with some corrupt elements in the Nigeria Customs Service through the social media platform X seems to be having great effects.
The Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has tightened the security around its border jurisdiction and has promptly closed all routes against smugglers and as well the Western Marine Command of the Service has also closed all water ways routes that smugglers usually use, these are in bids to reinforce the performance of their statutory functions and creat better confidence with the public.
Though the actions of these Commands are commendable, but they have also brought the unintended consequence of a heightened cost of certain essentials such as frozen products which price has risen in the last few days as a result of the Customs doing their jobs.
The price of a carton of chicken has moved up to the range between (N42,000 – N45,000) forty two thousand naira to forty five thousand naira as against (N35,000) thirty five thousand naira a few days ago.
A carton of turkey is now between (N57,000 – N60,000) even though in some areas, it is not available because of the security measures in place. Other frozen products also have scaled upwards.
Our source informed our correspondent in the last one week that these products were barred from the country through the various land and water routes leading to the rise and scarcity of frozen products in the country.
The Western part of the country forms the major smuggling routes as well as the major revenue points for the Nigeria Customs Service.
The situation has then made it imperative for poultry farmers to take advantage of the high price to increase their production in order to fill the gaps created by the renewed security watch against these products and also for greater profit margins for them for as it is said “opportunities abound everywhere and everytime”.
