The Nigeria Customs Area Controller, CAC of Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone A, Hussein Ejubunu, has warned against the importation and use of ‘used clothes’, especially with the outbreak of Monkeypox in the country.
He made the disclosure while Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos.
Ejubunu explained that the world is wary of Monkeypox whose mode of transmission includes clothing, he further pointed out that smuggling of used clothes has economic and health implications on Nigerians.
The Custom Boss stated that a massive discovery of 1,955 bales of used clothing in an abandoned building around the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex. “We made the discovery and evacuation using combined strategies of intelligence, tact and enforcement.”
He also noted that serious health implication associated with the use of such clothing exposes users to skin diseases like scabies, as well as fungal diseases which can be transmitted by wearing unwashed second-hand clothes.
According to him: “The very serious health implication of this act of textile smuggling is exposure of users to skin diseases like scabies and fungal diseases which can be transmitted by wearing unwashed second-hand clothes.
“Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of central and West Africa and is occasionally exported to other regions.
“The government in its wisdom wants the local textile industry to enjoy protection and create more jobs for Nigerians from the cotton farms through the textile and garment factories to our markets,” he noted.
