On Monday, the Zamfara State Transport Agency stopped 50 trucks transporting food from the country to the Niger Republic.
The agency, which was enforcing a presidential mandate aimed at halting the food crisis and hoarding, halted the trucks filled with various grains.
Last Thursday, President Bola Tinubu directed the trio of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, and Director-General of the Department of State Services Yusuf Bichi to work with state governors to pursue people hoarding food.
The decision was made during the President’s meeting with governors in Abuja to address the present food crisis, which was triggered by increases in transportation costs following the removal of fuel subsidies, as well as farmers’ inability to harvest their crops due to bandits and kidnappers.
On Sunday, the Nigeria Customs Service said it halted 15 trailers transporting foodstuffs over the Sokoto borders to the Niger Republic.
The Kano State Government also sealed ten warehouses suspected of hoarding food.
Shehu Sani, an indigene of Zurmi town in the state’s Zurmi Local Government Area, confirmed the interception of the 50 trucks in Zamfara on Monday, telling one of our correspondents on the phone that the vehicles were stopped at Gidan Jaja village, near Nigeria’s border with Niger Republic.
ZARTO spokesman Sale Shinkafi said that the trucks were attempting to smuggle food into the Niger Republic.
He stated, “Our men intercepted 50 vehicles loaded with various grains while attempting to smuggle them out of the country.” We told the proprietors to go back and sell the commodities to Nigerians at the correct pricing.”
Shinkafi added that the trucks were not escorted by agency officials, but were simply instructed to return to their various locations and sell the supplies at reasonable prices.
He stated, “You know that our first concern is to ensure that food goods are not smuggled out of the country. We just refused to allow them to enter Niger Republic.”
The All Farmers Association of Nigeria condemned wholesalers for smuggling food out of the nation.
He said that wholesalers were buying enormous quantities of food from local farmers and secretly transporting it to Niger, Cameroon, and other nations.
Shakin Agbayewa, Vice Chairman of AFAN’s Lagos State Chapter, told The PUNCH that the practice not only denied the local market of crucial food supplies, but also damaged Nigerian farmers’ efforts.
Agbayewa claimed that wholesalers, motivated by greed, were interrupting the domestic food supply chain and harming farmers’ livelihoods throughout the country.
He accused them of creating false demand in the market while also hurting the economy.
He explained, “So, what these folks do is buy farm produce from us in enormous numbers, store it in a warehouse, and transport it out of the country. They typically earn foreign exchange. They make more money going this way.”
The vice chairman stressed the importance of increased oversight and regulatory measures to combat exploitative activities and preserve the interests of local farmers.
He urged security authorities to unite and conduct thorough inspections into the warehouses where these agricultural items are held, with the goal of uncovering any illegal activity.
Kabir Ibrahim, National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, applauded the Nigerian Customs Service for recently intercepting food trucks.
He urged that smugglers be prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison.