In a bold move, officers and men of the Nigerian Customs Service, Sokoto/Zamfara Command, have rejected a bribe of N1.5m offered by suspected vandals of railway tracks. The suspects, who were attempting to smuggle vandalized railway tracks, were intercepted by the command’s monitoring team on June 8.
The Comptroller of Customs, Sokoto/Zamfara Commands, Kamal Muhammed, revealed that the suspects were unable to provide evidence of allocation from the Federal Ministry of Transport and instead made an offer to bribe the officers with N1.5m. Despite the temptation, the officers chose to uphold their integrity and detained the suspects at the command’s headquarters.
The seized items, including a truck and 20-foot container laden with vandalized railway tracks, are being handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for further investigation and prosecution.
In a separate operation, the same command intercepted 11,270 liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in compliance with the Comptroller General of Customs’ directive to seal up routes used for smuggling petroleum products. The seized PMS will be auctioned to the public at a rate of N180 per liter.
This development comes on the heels of a similar incident in August 2023, where the Tincan Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service rejected a N50m bribe offered by a drug smuggler who was involved in the importation of tramadol and other drugs. The suspect had claimed ownership of two 40-foot containers siezed with drugs valued at N550m.
These incidents demonstrate the commitment of the Nigerian Customs Service to fighting corruption and upholding the law, despite the temptation of bribes.
