Fisayo Soyombo And Customs: A Mockery Of ‘See Something, Say Something’

Fisayo Soyombo and Customs

On February 21, 2024, investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo released a blockbuster report detailing his time going undercover as a smuggler in Nigeria. His experience uncovered the deep alleged corruption within the ranks of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

The investigative reporter, through the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), narrated how the NCS top brass connived with criminals to smuggle contraband into Nigeria. According to Soyombo, customs officials are in bed with criminals, compromising their duty at the border.

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These accusations have not come out of the blue. The NCS is not necessarily known for honest officers. On February 27, 2024, Premium Times reported that at least 40 NCS personnel, most of them in the service’s highest hierarchy, had been indicted in a robust EFCC investigation into the proceeds of bribes paid to customs officials by smugglers importing and exporting contraband goods through the Nigerian borders.

The online medium alleged that intense lobbying was ongoing at the highest level of the Nigerian government as powerful government officials attempted to cover up a multi-billion naira corruption scandal involving NCS senior officials.

This report gave more credence to Fisayo Soyombo’s exposé. He not only made accusations but also mentioned names of culprits. Since the day he published his report, the investigative reporter has stayed on the story, providing new details regarding the corruption in the NCS on a daily basis.

Curiously, the NCS has been conspicuously silent about the weighty allegations. The service has made no attempt to offer even a denial or an explanation to taxpayers. It appears Nigeria customs is employing the usual, irresponsible tactic of government agencies who wait out controversies instead of responding to them. The lack of accountability from customs is sickening and unacceptable.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at his inauguration on May 28, 2023

Since President Bola Tinubu was sworn into office, he has attempted to gain public goodwill with some semblance of accountability to citizens. Still, his attempts are being undercut by the presidency’s deafening silence regarding the corruption alleged to be entrenched in the culture at customs.

Neither the president nor his aides could say they are not aware of the weighty allegations of impropriety, but their decision to be silent and not call the NCS leadership to order paints the image of a government that doesn’t care enough about accountability. That should not be.

THE POLICE AND THE MOCKERY OF CALLS FOR WHISTLEBLOWING

The police are the only government entity that has not been silent on the NCS corruption controversy. Unfortunately, the police interest in the matter is for the wrong reasons. The police have opted to use the notorious Cybercrime Act of 2015 to try to arrest the messenger instead of pursuing the alleged criminal.

One of the alleged smugglers named by Fisayo Soyombo, Ibrahim Dende Egungbohun, better known as IBD Dende, has seemingly employed the services of the police to capture the reporter and the police—as usual—have been a willing tool. The reporter accused him of gunrunning, an accusation that has apparently and disturbingly been ignored by the security agencies and the presidency who claim they are serious about fighting insecurity.

Last week, police spokesperson CSP Muyiwa Adejobi called on Nigerians to report crimes wherever they see them. “If you see something, you say something,” he said. It is difficult to understand the logic behind Adejobi’s call when the police force he represents is actively looking to punish a reporter for “saying something.”

Police PRO, Muyiwa Adejobi

Why should anyone “say something” when they know the police will almost always side with the powerful? The concerning attitude of leaving the alleged offender and going after the whistleblower does nothing but hurt the community policing agenda of the police. This conduct is also a disservice to the brave people who report crimes.

THE POLICE SHOULD DO THEIR JOBS

Instead of empty rhetoric, it’s time for the police to grow a spine and do their jobs without any consideration for the status of alleged criminals. That is the way the law is supposed to operate. When there are allegations of impropriety, the police should investigate; it’s what taxpayers pay them to do. There should be no sacred cow in the application of the law.

Instead of going after whistleblowers, the resources of the Nigeria Police Force are better channeled to investigating alleged crimes. The force, which has a reputation for being a tool for the rich to oppress the vulnerable, has a rare opportunity to salvage whatever is left of its poor public perception. It’s up to the force to utilise this opportunity, …or not.

However, it is in the best interests of the police to utilise this opportunity. The police unironically tell the public that they are their friends, but in practice, the public has often found out that police officers are their worst enemies. Persecuting whistleblowers instead of going after criminal suspects is problematic and only seeks to deepen public distrust of the police, making fewer people come forward to blow the whistle on criminal conduct.

Fisayo Soyombo

When informants and whistleblowers like Fisayo Soyombo are persecuted or even killed without protection by authorities, crime thrives because then, there is no incentive for reporting crimes. Instead of playing to the gallery with the “see something, say something” slogan, the police should do their job by rewarding whistleblowers for their bravery instead of harassing them to protect alleged criminals.

“Owolabi Alaka and Shakiru Labeabo were recently murdered in Ado-Odo after ‘seeing something and saying something’ to Nigeria Customs. If @PoliceNG investigated and prosecuted their killers, it would encourage more Nigerians to ‘see something and say something,’” Fisayo Soyombo recently wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.