The Comptroller-General of Immigration Service (CGIS), David Shikfu Parradang, has  debunked rumours doing the rounds that the operatives of the Customs and Immigration Services has been given verbal directive to withdraw from the border posts in Kebbi and Katsina states.

Parradang was reacting to a report which quoted the national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Party (APC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed as saying that a verbal directive had been given to the security operatives of the Customs and Immigration Services to vacate their duty posts on the borderlines across Kebbi and Katsina states.

“The CGIS wish to emphatically state that there was no such circular or directive given to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) nor its personnel at Kebbi and Katsina State Commands. On the contrary, the NIS is reinforcing its borders and not contemplating abandoning same for a second.

“The Nigeria Immigration Service and indeed, other security agencies, understand the grave consequences of abandoning the nation’s frontlines and so would never attempt to do so.

“Members of the public are hereby enjoined to disregard and ignore such reports and further advised to give any useful information that would ensure the security of our borders and the well-being of all Nigerians.

“The Comptroller General wishes to use this medium to assure the public that our officers and men are on 24/7 patrol and surveillance across all the nation’s borders,” Parradang said.

In a related development, the Nigerian Customs also dismissed the purported directive withdrawing officers said to have been given verbal orders by an unnamed official of the Federal Government, raising fears about security of the borders.

Customs spokesman, Wale Adeniyi, in a statement, said that  based on  the security implications of this development and its sensitivity, it had become necessary for the Service to clarify the situation.

According to him, there was no directive whatsoever, verbal or written to officers of the Nigeria Customs Service posted to Kebbi/Sokoto and Kaduna/Katsina commands to withdraw from the borders or their patrol bases.

He stated further that there was no directive withdrawing Customs operatives from duty posts in other border stations across the country.