On Friday, the Sector 4 Command of Nigerian Customs’ Joint Border Patrol Team began public auctioning 3,522 packs of matches with a Duty Paid Value of N17.6 million to largely minor dealers in Katsina State.
Each of the cartoon is being sold at 5,000 Naira which is below half of the normal market price of about 13,000 Naira, as part of measures to solve the current economic hardship that has hit the citizens.
The foreign made matches were seized loaded on a truck with registration CO-436-KT along the Kano Expressway based on credible intelligence since January 2, 2024.
While the Sector 4 Command of the Joint Border Patrol Team is still investigating how the vehicle was hired by the owner of the matches, the Unit Coordinator, Comptroller Kola Oladeji, told reporters in a press briefing held at the Command’s Northwest Headquarters, Katsina, that the auctioning exercise was approved and directed by the management of the Nigerian Customs Service under the leadership of the Customs Comptroller General, Bashir Adeniyi.
He therefore, commended management of the Nigerian Customs Service for according the unit with all the necessary support to perform creditably.
Adeniyi disclosed that two additional brand-new Hilux vehicles were allocated to the unit by the management last week, promising not to fail in carrying out the assigned tasks.
“The management under the leadership of the CGC was so magnanimous and said these items should be sold to members of the general public as part of palliatives to solve the ongoing hardship, we are selling them below half.
“You can see by yourselves, the number of residents mostly petty traders who are rushing to buy. The importance of this gesture cannot be overstated. At the end of this exercise, the money generated by the accountant of the Command from the auctioning will be deposited and paid into the Federation Account”, Oladeji noted.