In an organisation, internal communication is crucial since it facilitates goal-achieving for both individuals and groups. To improve performance, effective internal communication is crucial. As the primary driver of an organisation's success, employee relations are regarded as one of its most crucial components. As a result, businesses are devoting a great deal of time and resources to investigating employee performance. Within this framework, the Nigeria Customs Service's internal communication channels and their operational focus were investigated in this study. Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS) was used as theoretical framework. The study used constructivism, or what some scholars refer to as interpretive approach to research design, which influenced the decision to conduct an in-depth interview. 12 participants were chosen for the study using purposive sampling. NVivo, version 14 was used to analyse the data using thematic analysis. The results showed that although certain channels like email and face-to-face meetings were often used for information exchange, opinions about how effective they were used varied. The findings revealed difficulties in promptly disseminating crucial operational information, suggesting possible deficiencies in the organisation’s communication efficacy. Regarding the assessment of the efficacy of existing internal communication channels, the study discovered that although majority of the participants judged certain channels to be effective, there were other situations in which communication was deemed inefficient. The study concludes that internal communication is a key idea and a crucial component of internal public relations, which also relates it to favourable organisational and employee outcomes including employee engagement. Keywords: Employee Relations, Evaluation, International Communication, Management and Nigeria Customs
The study examined the impact of Customs border management operations through trade facilitations and technology deployment on the fight against wildlife trafficking. The background of this study was premised on the fact that trade openness affect illicit wildlife trafficking which leads to biodiversity loss. The border governance theory and technology determinism theory provided theoretical backdrop underpinning this study. The study found that trade facilitation and technology deployment by Customs has significantly reduced illicit wildlife trafficking. The study employed Pooled OLS using the linear gravity model. Data were sourced from UNODC. World Bank, CITES database between 2017 and 2022 for selected West African Countries such as Nigeria, Niger, Benin Republic, Chad, and Cameroon. The statistical evidence from pooled OLS is consistent with Custom seizures. Hence, the study concludes that Customs operations in achieving sustainable border management through technology deployment and trade facilitation has statistically reduced illicit wildlife trafficking. Therefore, sustainable border management should be enabled to advanced deployment and installation of technology e.g., satellite and drones as well as robust trade facilitation targeting. The study recommends that there should be a sustainable financing matrix to improve the use of technology deliverables against illicit wildlife trafficking. Government should also democratize border management to attract investors with sincere technology to fight crime and criminality around the borders points of entry.
Objectives: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) service is a comprehensive program comprising both pharmacological and non-pharmacological (exercise training, counseling, nutritional, etc.) treatment options that have been proven to improve physical and psychological conditions of patients with chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs). Nevertheless, PR is non-existent in most parts of Africa. The objective of this study is to report on the views of respiratory health professionals (pulmonologists and allied health) regarding the implementation of PR in Northwest Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Using a qualitative descriptive design, a group of 11 purposively sampled respiratory health professionals working in tertiary hospitals in Northwest Nigeria was contacted to participate in the study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with the participants. Information power was used to stop data collection. The data obtained were analyzed using thematic synthesis. Results: Six themes emerged from the interviews as follows: (i) Description of PR as a comprehensive life-saving intervention that involves exercises, education, self-care, and nutrition; (ii) absence of PR units; (iii) possession of knowledge of their roles; (iv) possession of basic knowledge of roles of other team members; (v) lack of specialized workforce; and (vi) lack of facilities and equipment. In general, the results of the study indicated that some respondents were more conversant with PR as an intervention in CRDs than others. Furthermore, the respondents had basic knowledge of the roles of other professionals in the delivery of PR. Finally, the major barriers to the utilization of PR services were poor awareness, lack of equipment, and workforce. Conclusion: There was a general lack of comprehensive PR services in the study area with respiratory health-care professionals demonstrating variable, but mostly good knowledge of PR.
The prosecution of smuggling of goods is bedeviled with procedural difficulties to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt and so, does not follow the usual procedures of criminal justice. This article focuses on determining whether the reversal of the burden of proof, which is common to most customs laws, offends the general notion of presumption of innocence of the accused. The paper adopts a comparative analysis of relevant statutes and case law. It finds that statutes which impose the burden of proof on the accused in certain circumstances are valid but misapplied by the courts in Nigeria. Given the peculiar nature of smuggling, it is not difficult to appreciate the rationale for placing the burden on the accused to prove certain facts especially those within his peculiar knowledge. This will however not justify the misapplication of such provisions that reverse the burden of proof as was the case in Board of Customs and Excise v Ibrahim Barau. The paper recommends a judicial rethink that will ensure the proper application of section 190 of the Nigerian CEMA whenever the opportunity presents itself. Prosecution, Smuggling of Goods, Strict Liability Offences, Mental Fault, Intermediate Offences, Absolute Prohibition, Presumption of Innocence, Reversed Burden of Proof, Customs and Excise Laws, Nigeria
Intentional manipulation of invoices that lead to undervaluation of trade goods is the most common type of customs fraud to avoid ad valorem duties and taxes. To secure government revenue without interrupting legitimate trade flows, customs administrations around the world strive to develop ways to detect illicit trades. This paper proposes DATE, a model of Dual-task Attentive Tree-aware Embedding, to classify and rank illegal trade flows that contribute the most to the overall customs revenue when caught. The strength of DATE comes from combining a tree-based model for interpretability and transaction-level embeddings with dual attention mechanisms. To accurately identify illicit transactions and predict tax revenue, DATE learns simultaneously from illicitness and surtax of each transaction. With a five-year amount of customs import data with a test illicit ratio of 2.24%, DATE shows a remarkable precision of 92.7% on illegal cases and a recall of 49.3% on revenue after inspecting only 1% of all trade flows. We also discuss issues on deploying DATE in Nigeria Customs Service, in collaboration with the World Customs Organization.
