Posted by Oluyinka Akintunde, Tobi Soniyi and Onyedi Ojiabor, Abuja on
The Nigeria Customs Service has placed its officers and men at all the borders, airports and seaports and patrol teams on alert over the smuggling of Biafran currency into the country.
The Nigeria Customs Service has placed its officers and men at all the borders, airports and seaports and patrol teams on alert over the smuggling of Biafran currency into the country.
Reports indicated that the Biafran currency, which was in circulation during the civil war between 1967 and 1970, is currently being circulated in some parts of the country and the West African sub-region.
The Customs Public Relations Officer, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, who confirmed this to our correspondents on Tuesday in Abuja, said the government agency was looking out for smugglers of the outlawed currency.
"This is a national issue and the agency has already put all its officers manning the approved borders and entry points into the country on red alert to look out for the smugglers of these currencies," said Adeniyi, a Superintendent of Customs.
He stated that the agency was yet to arrest any of the traffickers in the illegal currency.
He maintained that the agency would apply the normal sanctions, including confiscation and prosecution, on smugglers of the Biafran currency.
Reacting to the reports of smuggling of arms and ammunitions, the Customs' spokesman stated that the agency would not compromise on its arrest of smugglers of arms and ammunitions into the country.
The Federal Government had last week reacted to the reports of circulation of the Biafran currency, saying that it would apply the full weight of the law on anyone circulating the currency.
In a statement signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr, the government described the currency in circulation as "worthless and illegitimate."
The statement read, "The attention of the Federal Government has been drawn to the reports of continued circulation of the Biafran currency in some parts of Nigeria and other countries in the West African sub-region.
"Investigations have shown that the circulation of the Biafran currency is being encouraged among mostly ignorant persons in rural areas by fraudsters who contrive to exchange them for the legitimate currencies possessed by their unwary victims through giving them the false impression that Biafran currency will regain legitimacy soon."
The government further warned that the currency did not constitute legal tender in Nigeria or any other country, noting that the claims that the use of the currency had been approved by the United Nations were untrue.
"Anyone who continues to circulate the illegal currency should be prepared to face the full wrath of the law as law enforcement agencies have been directed to crackdown forcefully on their criminal activity," Nweke stated.
The PUNCH, Wednesday, August 03, 2005