The Nigerian Freight Forwarders in Lagos state petition the Inspector General of Police (IGP) over allegation of unbridled daylight extortion by officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) posted to the Lagos sea ports, even as Nigeria Shippers’ Council throws its weight behind the trading community
Freight forwarders have called the attention of the Inspection General of police, Kayode Egbetokun to the sprawling corruption allegedly involving some police officers posted to the nation’s ports.
In a petition to the new Inspector General of police, Kayode Egbetokun, the freight forwarders said they will withdraw their services if the excesses of these police officers were not checked.
In the protest letter signed by Alhaji Tanko Ibrahim, the National Coordinator of the 100 percent Compliance team of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), the customs brokers condemned the activities of the police officers, saying this was affecting trade facilitation.
In the petition, Tanko Ibrahim, who is also an elected member of the governing board of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding Practice in Nigeria (CRFFN), claimed these officers, in connivance with the shipping companies, indiscriminately stop and detain exited containers from the ports with the purpose of extorting money from the owners.
Tanko said the extortionist activities of the police were curtailed under the past administration of police IG due to the outcry of the oppressed freight forwarders.
He lamented that the menace has now resurged with new vigour, as the police now carry out their extortions in the open.
He said, “Since the advent of the new administration, the officers and men of the Maritime Police have not only resumed these activities but also even more daring.
“They do not only block the release of containers from shipping companies, they also arrest and detain containers on the roads, and even allegedly go into fisticuffs with the officers of the Federal operations Unit of the Nigerian Customs service”
“To compound and confound the matter, one of their officers, has been at Kam Salem House for more than three years when the rapprochement was reached during the last administration, is the unrepentant bagman who openly boasts that he is a millionaire.
“He sits atop proceedings in the extortion business’ the petitioners declared.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) has cautioned the Nigeria Police and other agencies at the nation’s ports to stop interfering with the statutory roles of the Nigeria Customs (NCS) at the ports.
Specifically, the Council told the Police and other agencies to stop intercepting and checking goods already cleared by the Customs at the ports.
The Executive Secretary/CEO of the NSC, Hon. Emmanuel Jime who spoke during a Multi-Agency Stakeholders Enlightenment said the Police should stop detaining containers already cleared by the Customs inside the ports or along the ports corridor.
Jime expressed concerns on why the Police detains a container in the ports which has been cleared by the Customs.
Jime said, “The problem we have now is that we have Customs on one side checking cargoes, and police on the other hand also checking cargoes. These are things that shouldn’t exist. If Customs clears a cargo, the Police do not have the authority to detain such cargo.
“If the police has intelligence on a cargo, they should escort the container to the final spot of discharge and then check the container right there. Congesting our ports or ports access roads with detained containers is not helping the ease of doing business at our ports.
“We see these problems every day. Every agency of government has their roles cut out for them. NPA, NSC, NAFDAC, and others, we all have our different roles cut out for us, let us look at how we can interface with each other and harmonise our operations to help facilitate trade.
“If NAFDAC flags a container that has already been cleared by SON, it shouldn’t lead to clogging of the ports access roads or port congestion. We need to harmonise our operations for the benefit of the country.”
