Nigeria’s Correctional Service and Customs Service have pledged to work more closely to improve security in Kogi State, with a focus on intelligence sharing to combat smuggling, drug trafficking and other crimes, officials said on Wednesday.
The commitment followed a courtesy visit by Nnamdi Agwu, the newly installed Controller of Customs for the North-Western Marine Command, to Hadiza Inna Aminu, the Controller of Corrections for the Nigerian Correctional Service’s Kogi State Command, at her office in Lokoja.
The visit was meant to strengthen existing ties between the two agencies and improve cooperation in the state, the Correctional Service said in a statement signed by its acting public relations officer, Yabagi Abdullahi Umar.
The two officials discussed areas of shared interest, particularly intelligence sharing and the need for sustained cooperation to curb smuggling, drug trafficking and other criminal activities along Kogi’s waterways and inland routes, the statement said.
Aminu welcomed Agwu and his delegation and praised the Customs Service for its role in national security and revenue generation. She said the Correctional Service was ready to collaborate in any area required.
“I must say, without mincing words, that the safety and development of Kogi State and by extension Nigeria at large can be guaranteed only when there is absolute cooperation amongst the security agencies,” Aminu said.
Agwu thanked Aminu for the reception and said no security agency can work alone, according to the statement. He pledged that Customs would continue to partner with the Correctional Service and called for more joint efforts to rid the country of crime.
The statement said the meeting ended cordially, with both officials agreeing to keep open lines of communication and to work together in the interest of Kogi State and Nigeria.
