Over the last two weeks, Fisayo Soyombo, an investigative journalist working to uncover the corruption in Nigeria, brought the covert and blatant corruption of the Nigerian Customs Services to light.
Who is Fisayo Soyombo?
A Nigerian investigative journalist known for his undercover work in Nigeria’s criminal justice system. He is the Founder/Editor-in-Chief of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).
In his investigative journey, he has spent five days undercover as a suspect in a police cell and eight as an inmate in Ikoyi Prison to expose corruption.
Soyombo also drove the equivalent of a stolen vehicle from Abuja to Lagos, passing 86 checkpoints to investigate bribery. He’s also investigated the abandonment of soldiers injured in battle against Boko Haram and the corruption in the handling of corpses at government-run mortuaries and cemeteries. In 2019, Soyombo went undercover for three weeks as a patient at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Yaba, Lagos.
With the work Fisayo has done, he has been able to cause impact in a few leading to the release of unjustly imprisoned people, treatment of neglected soldiers, arrest of corrupt police officers and commendations from the ex-governor and minister of interior – Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola among other awards. In other cases, the government has either promised to investigate or dismissed the case.
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What did he uncover about the Nigerian Customs?
Posing as a smuggler in 2022, Fisayo discovered that the Nigerian Customs Service is ridden with corruption. In a report published on February 21, 2024, he stated that he illegally imported 100 bags of rice in November 2022 from the Republic of Benin into Nigeria without facing resistance from security operatives because some NCS officials were paid.
Soyombo linked up with a smuggler who provided insider information about how the customs officers moved, enabling him to transport the rice between Nigeria and the Benin Republic through the forest using motorcycles.
He found that smugglers can bring anything into Nigeria without consequence as long as they pay bribes to customs officers. These officers provide insider information to smugglers, further facilitating smuggling activities. According to Fisayo, the major stakeholders in this ring of corruption include popular businessman, IBD Dende, and Comptroller Hussein Ejigbunu, among other officers of the customs services.
His findings have sparked social media discussions about the need for reform within the agency and the broader issue of corruption in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Customs Services respond
The Nigerian Customs Services hasn’t officially responded to these revelations. However, they have probed a comptroller. The Nigerian police have also investigated FIJ’s board director – Bukola Shonibare under the guise of an invitation.
The Police also demanded that FIJ’s board provide Fisayo Soyombo for investigation. IBD Dende also filed a pre-action statement against Fisayo Soyombo on grounds of defamation and character assassination with a demand for ₦500 million in damages and a retraction of the published report.
