Nigeria Customs Service says it has so far distributed four hundred and twenty-four thousand, three hundred and ninety-one bags of rice worth four billion naira to Internally Displaced Persons in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Edo States.

President Muhamnadu Buhari had directed the Custom Service to distribute some seized items including rice to Internally Displaced Persons in the troubled North East to ameliorate their sufferings.

Its Public Relations Officer, Deputy Comptroller, Joseph Attah, said apart from rice, other seized perishable items were also distributed to the Internally Displaced Persons.

Attah said with relative peace in the North-East, many Internally Displaced Persons were now returning to their ancestral homes and engaging in farming.

He pointed out that the need for these items continued to reduce while seizures of the items had made warehouses to overflow.

The Spokesperson said the Comptroller General of Customs, Colonel Hameed Ali, had obtained the Presidential nod to extend the distribution of the relief items to other IDP camps and registered orphanages across the country.

According to him, already, the list of IDPs and orphanages across the country is being compiled with a view to kick-starting the nation-wide distribution as soon as possible.

He said by the time NCS commenced the distribution, it would provide relief and succour to fellow Nigerians who were going through tough times in the IDP camps and orphanages.

Attah also said a total number of 238,094 (50kg) bags of rice were seized across the country by customs between January and November this year.

He reiterated the commitment of the Ali led administration to cleanse the system to boost revenue generation in the country.