The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has sought the collaboration of the Department of State Service (DSS), in the fight against smuggling and proliferation of arms in the country.
The partnership was sought when the Ag. Comptroller-General of the Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, paid a familiarization visit to the Director-General of DSS, Yusuf Bichi, in Abuja.
The Customs Boss emphasised that maintaining a mutual partnership between the two agencies will go a long way in enhancing national security.
“I hereby extend the Nigeria Customs Service’s friendly hands to solicit your support for better service to our dear country – which will intensify border security across the country,” he said.
He also appreciated the DG for availing an opportunity to some of his senior officers to take part in special courses at the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), which, according to him, has broadened their capacity in discharging their constitutional duties.
Responding, the director-general of the Department of State Service (DSS), commended the Customs Ag CG for his ‘notable’ resilience in carrying out the affairs of the Service, since his appointment.
Bichi affirmed that teamwork is the basis for success in the fight against insecurity as no agency can do it alone.
He further highlighted that sustaining the Customs-DSS synergy will be a game changer in the counter-threat actions across border areas, pledging that his office will continue to provide intelligence to Customs to aid their performance.
He, however, vowed to make DSS facilities available for training and retraining of middle cadre customs officers.
As a mark of commitment to his pronouncements, the DG immediately directed his relevant departments to urgently engage their Customs Counterparts for the required synergy to actualise national security objectives. .