Nigerian Authorities Escalate Border Monitoring To Tackle Food Hoarding, Smuggling

By Adeyemi Adekunle

The Nigerian government has intensified its efforts to tackle food hoarding and smuggling by ramping up its border monitoring operations. The move comes amid concerns that the current economic challenges have led to food prices soaring and an increase in food hoarding and smuggling activities across the country.

According to sources, the Nigerian Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Department of State Services, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have initiated an inter-agency operation to crack down on smugglers and individuals stockpiling food products across the country.

The special team set up by President Bola Tinubu to address food hoarding has also increased surveillance at Nigeria’s land borders in Borno, Niger, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Jigawa states, which have been identified as high-risk areas.

Speaking on the latest developments, a source familiar with the matter said, “There is an ongoing inter-agency operation involving the Customs, DSS, EFCC, and other agencies. They moved to grain markets, especially markets around northern Nigeria, and they were able to discover large-scale smuggling of grains outside of Nigeria, and most of these grains are being round-tripped. So, there are cartels specialized in round-tripping food items across Nigerian land borders.”

The source further revealed that the security agencies have discovered large stockpiles of stored food items, mainly by major companies claiming to produce animal feed and other products. “One of the stores even contained about 50,000 tonnes of grains,” the source added.

The Nigerian government has been facing growing criticism over the rising cost of food items, which has put a strain on the country’s economy and led to increased poverty and insecurity.

The latest crackdown on food hoarding and smuggling is aimed at addressing these challenges and ensuring that food items are made available to Nigerians at affordable prices.

In addition to the inter-agency operation, the Nigeria Customs Service has adjusted its strategies and enhanced its monitoring systems at the borders. The agency’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abdullahi Maiwada, confirmed that the service had held a meeting with all area comptrollers in the border areas and had given them marching orders to ensure that there is no form of smuggling in their territories.

“It is emphatic that we are taking action. We have re-strategized. It will warrant our presence, the use of intelligence-driven operations, and our visibility in terms of increased patrol and non-kinetic approaches such as engagement,” Maiwada said.

The government is also exploring engagement with the populace to tell them why they should not support smuggling. In the next few days, further strategies to tackle food hoarding and smuggling are expected to be revealed.

As Nigerians grapple with the impact of the pandemic and the economic challenges facing the country, the latest efforts by the government to tackle food hoarding and smuggling are seen as a step in the right direction. It is hoped that these measures will lead to a reduction in food prices and improve the quality of life for Nigerians.