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Personnel of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have been accused of impounding local farm produce on a large scale at Kongolam, Maiadua Local Council of Katsina State.
A community leader in the area, Umaru Shirwa, made the accusation in a chat with The Guardian, yesterday.
Shirwa said despite the Federal Government’s closure of the borders days ago, Kongolam International Market continued to operate, albeit at a low scale.
According to him, local farmers often bring in their produce, especially beans, to the market for sale to both retailers and wholesalers, but whenever buyers purchase beans in bulk, officials of NCS would stop them on the road and impound their goods.
“Farmers are still bringing in their produce, especially beans, to sell at the market.
Business has been ongoing at the market, though not as before due to the border closure.
“When our people buy bags of beans in large quantities, they are often stopped on the road by Customs officials, who impound them, saying the beans came in from Niger Republic,” he lamented.
The situation, the community leader explained, has created fear in farmers, who only want to make money selling their farm produce.
He added: “I have personally spoken with the Customs Comptroller on phone over the situation, and I hope something would be done soon to address the problem.”
Spokesperson for NCS in the state, Tahir Balarabe, said he was only getting to know about the issue, but did not say whether there would be an official response on the matter.
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