The Federal Government on Monday rejected calls on it to reopen its with neigbouring countries.
There have been calls on the government to
reopen the borders which have closed for nearly one month, especially its border with Benin Republic whose economy largely depends on trade with Nigeria.
Making known government’s stance on Monday, the Comptroller-General of Customs Col. Hammed Ali (rtd), said that the nation’s security was more important to it.
He said the closure of the borders, has put paid to illegal arms and illicit drugs import into the country.
Ali spoke in Abuja while addressing a news conference on the joint border patrol codenamed ’Ex-Swift response,” coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), made up of the police, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Armed Forces and other security agencies to address trans-border security issues.
He said the rights for movement of persons of ECOWAS protocols notwithstanding, security must take precedence over such rights.
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The customs boss pointed out that the Federal Government had also breached the rights of the citizenry to movement and international trade, but added that “when it comes to security, all laws take back a seat.
“We want make sure that our people are protected. You must be alive and well for you to begin to ask for your rights. Your rights come when you are well and alive. Go and ask the people in Maiduguri where Boko Haram was harassing their lives. The only question was survival; there is no question of right. This time, Nigeria must survive first before we begin to ask for our rights.”
He insisted that the Federal Government’s action was for the security agencies to be able to scan the goods entering into the country thoroughly.
He said therefore, that all goods must only enter through legitimate air and sea ports where they can undergo thorough scanning and certified fit for consumption.
“We hope that by the time we get to the end of this exercise, we and our neighbours would have agreed on the type of goods that should enter and exit our country. For now, all goods, whether illicit or non-illicit, are banned from going and coming into Nigeria.
“Let me add that for the avoidance of doubt that we included all goods because all goods can equally come through our seaports. For that reason, we have deemed it necessary for now that importers of such goods should go through our controlled borders where we have scanners to verify the kind of goods and how healthy to our people.”
