Comrade Kunle Sodipo Writes Open Letter To President Tinubu, Governor Abiodun, On Unprofessional Conducts And Recklessness Of Nigeria Customs Service In Ogun State
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Your Excellencies,
I have taken it upon myself to write you this open letter as a bonafide citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and indigene of Ogun State who have always been and remain proud of the green passport, despite our travails as a nation blessed by God but yet to fulfill her full potentials. Secondly, as a preventive measure that is strongly needful to avert the looming danger of public mass action against the unabated unprofessional conducts and recklessness of men of the Nigeria Customs Service in Ogun State.
It is a known and verifiable fact that many innocent citizens, including school children in Ogun State have met their untimely deaths through the bullets and stray bullets of men of the NCS who for a long time now, have formed the dangerous habit of raiding public markets in Ogun State in search of imported rice and other contrabands. This they have done with high degree recklessness and zero respect for human lives.
My dutiful President and Governor respectively sir, I am aware of the Legal Framework of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023 which vests Legal Authority in the Nigeria Customs Service to act on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria in all Customs matters but unaware of any law that gives the Nigeria Customs Service power to kill innocent citizens and shoot sporadically in broad daylight even in front of a fellow federal sister security agency station, the Nigeria Police Force, Lafenwa Divisional Headquarters Abeokuta; dressed like militants as recently captured in a viral video all because of imported rice.
With due respect to your excellencies and going by your track records through service to humanity in various capacities, you will agree with me that the life of an innocent Nigerian is more valuable than a bag or bags of imported rice or any other contrabands the NCS may be looking for in our markets when in actual fact, the contrabands don’t just miraculously get to the markets. From several online reactions, most Nigerians have demanded the leadership of NCS to check and curtail corruption within their ranks as a better way of addressing smuggling instead of carrying out deadly midnight raids and day light shootings which has led to loss of many innocent lives including young children who have been killed and made to die untimely with potential solutions to our unresolved problems and with many untapped talents for our edification as a nation.
It may also interest you to know your excellencies, that many of the seizures made during this needless show of Force in most cases, finds their ways back to the market through the wives and family members of those who seized them. As a matter of fact, they own the bests of imported goods supermarkets in town. So its logical to say that the acts of smuggling which is considered an economic sabotage can be reduced or controlled to the minimum without wasting innocent lives if men of NCS can address corruption concerns within their ranks, concentrate their show of Force and militant display strictly at our border points and spare innocent Nigerians the horror show which they always display in the most terrifying manner.
If the NPF is not empowered to kill even a deadly armed robber without trial, why should the men of NCS be empowered or backed to kill smugglers even when they can arrest and prosecute them ? Are we saying that the NCS do not have an intelligent unit who can discretely track, arrest and prosecute smugglers without the usual horrible show of Force ?
Yes, we understand their could be some peculiar cases but such can not be too peculiar to the extent that we can’t apply wisdom to get the best result. There are banned drugs in the markets across Nigeria but we have never seen NDLEA stormed our open markets with rains of bullets in a waste of tax payers money by throwing caution to the wind in search for banned substances, instead, they conduct discrete and intelligence based operations in the most careful manner to protect innocent lives. Same is applicable to the NPF of today under IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun.
As long as Nigerians and indeed the good people of Ogun State will support the income generating tasks of the Controller-General of the NCS, *Bashir Adewale Adeniyi* and his men on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, we would never support and will no longer tolerate the killing of innocent citizens in Ogun State, either in our border towns, state capital or any other sensitive areas. While watching the viral video of the recklessness displayed in Lafenwa Abeokuta, I personally imagined what would have happened if a stray bullet from the men of NCS mistakenly hits somebody in the nearby barracks of the Nigeria Army or the Police Station ? Would the Soldiers in the barracks or the Police men on duty just say thank you to the reckless NCS men and ask them to go ? or what if the stray bullets hits the family member of a VIP, would such VIP shower encomium on them and look away ?
I respectfully request your excellencies to please use your good offices as a matter of urgency, to look into the operations of the NCS in Ogun State and see how their excesses can be curbed to safeguard human lives and prevent a possible uprising like that of the Endsars. I trust in the strength of your good offices towards rallying round our law makers and other relevant stakeholders to critically evaluate and find a positive way forward in the best interest of our border communities who are the biggest casualties in Ogun State and Nigeria at large. To the glory of God, I am not into any form of buying and selling of edibles and currently do not have any family member or freind dealing in same. This is necessary for me to mention since I perfectly understand how our system works, most especially our public institutions common use of the PR department to change narratives and divert public attention from the most evident facts.
This is a call to safeguard our children, parents, society and even the men of NCS. It is never an attempt to defame the character of NCS or the officers and men as an agency of the Federal Government in Ogun State.
All events mentioned and referred to are in the public domain, as well traceable within the prints and electronic mediums. It is not an attempt to gain popularity or trend anywhere but a strong request for high level professionalism and meticulous approach in the operations of NCS in Ogun State.
Thanking you your excellencies in anticipation for your quick response and meaningful actions.
Comrade Kunle Sodipo CPGD,MNIMN,mnim
Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Tuesday 19th December, 2023.