Govt to overhaul security at borders – The Guardian
November 24, 2009 by Bunmi Awolusi
An overhaul of the security arrangement in Nigeria’s border routes is being tinkered with by the Federal Government.
It is aimed at checking the smuggling of contraband goods, arms and ammunition through the routes, which the government has classified as porous.
The exercise, The Guardian learnt, will begin at the Daura-Niger Republic and Seme-Cotonu, Benin Republic routes, which top security officials have identified as the highways commonly used for the smuggling of dangerous weapons and contraband goods.
The smugglers, sources said, turn kingpins on the routes between 2a.m. and 4a.m. in connivance with middle and junior rank security agents, who used the absence of their superiors at such periods to make quick money.
A senior security official said reports available to the government showed that smugglers bribe security agents between N2 million and N5 million per container or truck to gain free entry into the country.
