In a startling revelation that underscores the worsening insecurity in Nigeria’s border regions, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has disclosed that its officers were recently forced to offer seized rice to bandits in exchange for their lives during an encounter in Katsina State.
The National Coordinator of the NCS Border Drill, Sector Four, Northwest, Comptroller Aliyu Mohammed, made the disclosure while briefing journalists in Katsina on Wednesday.
Mohammed, who described the incident as one of the gravest risks his men had faced, said the operatives were on a routine operation in Dutsin-Ma Local Government Area when they were confronted by armed bandits.
According to him, the officers had earlier seized 37 bags of smuggled rice before the bandits intercepted them deep inside the bush.
> “We have a lot of challenges; the people we are working for are not supporting us. We are not working for only Customs; we are working for the nation,” Mohammed lamented.
He narrated that to avoid being killed, the officers had no choice but to part with some of the seized goods.
> “I sacrificed my life to go to Dutsin-Ma and enter the bush where the bandits are. During our last encounter, they became a bit friendly. We seized 37 bags of rice. They said, ‘Okay, if we are to go, you must give us seven bags.’ We gave them seven bags to save our lives. So, you see the risk I took,” he said.
The Customs boss decried the level of insecurity that has turned many operational areas into death zones for security agents, saying that poor support from government and lack of inter-agency collaboration had worsened their plight.
Mohammed stressed that the risks borne by Customs officers go far beyond enforcing import regulations, adding that many operatives routinely face threats from both smugglers and violent armed groups.
“Our work is no longer just about intercepting contraband; it’s about survival. Many officers operate under extreme danger every day,” he said.
Residents in the Dutsin-Ma axis and other parts of Katsina have repeatedly complained of escalating bandit attacks, with communities paying ransoms or levies to criminal gangs to avoid raids.
The latest revelation adds to growing concerns about the deteriorating security situation in the North-West, where soldiers, police officers, and other paramilitary personnel continue to suffer casualties despite multiple government-backed operations.
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