Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said on Tuesday, March 5, that the service has arrested about 120 trucks smuggling food items from Nigeria to other countries.

Speaking at the sectoral debate organised by the House of Representatives, the Customs boss said the president has given a directive that the arrested trucks be diverted to the local markets in the areas where they were arrested in order to force down the process of grains and other food items.

He, however, decried the attitude of border communities who have engaged security agents in a bid to smuggle grains out of the country, adding that the decision to halt the smuggling of food items was to fight hunger and not encourage those who want to enrich themselves at the expense of the people.

He warned against adopting quick-fix solutions to addressing the food scarcity in the country, adding that the country must put in place long-term measures to address the situation.

He said that the Customs was playing its part in ensuring that the problem of food security is addressed, adding that currently, most agriculture inputs attract zero duty and zero VAT.

END.