• Area Controller Says "Tin Can Port Is Full Of Touts"
The Tin Can Island Port was thrown into pandemonium yesterday, while all activities were put on temporary hold as a team of armed Custom Officers from the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) in Ikeja stormed the popular ‘Anyman Canteen’ and arrested many clearing agents who were found to be milling around at the place.
• Area Controller Says "Tin Can Port Is Full Of Touts"
The Tin Can Island Port was thrown into pandemonium yesterday, while all activities were put on temporary hold as a team of armed Custom Officers from the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) in Ikeja stormed the popular ‘Anyman Canteen’ and arrested many clearing agents who were found to be milling around at the place.
The Customs enforcement officers, who were assisted by a high powered team of stern looking police officers, carried out a raid that lasted for about two hours and even extended their operation to the Second Gate bus stop at the port.
But, in a swift reaction to the raid, the Tin Can chapter chairman of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Mr. Uche Nwabude told Shipping Position Daily that the association, in collaboration with sister associations like the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) will contest the raid.
Nwabude confirmed to our correspondent that he was also arrested by the officers, but was released following the intervention of a Deputy Comptroller of Customs who was on the team and who recognised him.
Also arrested was the public relations officer (PRO), Mr Adeola Ganny, who was reportedly brutalised.
And apparently infuriated by the raid, the NAGAFF top-man said, "we will not allow this harassment to go unchecked, by tomorrow we are going to seat with ANLCA and confront the customs on this, because many of the people they have taken away are genuine freight forwarders" he said.
But few hours to the raid, the Customs Area Comptroller in charge of the Tin Can command of the Nigeria Custom Service, Comptroller Tunji Aremu had briefed the press in his office and had said that the Tin Can Island port is challenged with the influx of touts and miscreants, who according to him, have nothing to contribute to the cargo clearance process than to disturb the process.
The Customs boss stated this while giving reports of the performances of the command for year 2012.
Comptroller Aremu lamented that thugs trooping into the ports on daily basis has been one of the major challenge currently facing the customs because they usually hinder the genuine operators from carrying out their businesses.
Not betraying the fact that a raid was around the corner, he declared that,“those that do not have anything to do in the ports but disturb the genuine agents will be dealt with very soon,’’ he said.
He said that “the era of anything goes’’, in the Tin-Island Port Command was long gone.
“Everything is done in the right perspective. It is a different port right now and this can be seen from the revenue generated,’’ he said.
He had assured that the command is working with the assistance of the customs Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone 'A’ in looking into the issue and to ensure successful exit of genuinely cleared cargo from Tin Can port.
Aremu advised importers to always make the correct declarations on their document, stressing that this would help achieve the 48 hours cargo clearance target.
“Twenty four hours is even feasible, only if importers can be truthful.
“When an importer declares 500 items in a container and on physical inspection, 1,000 items are found, then the document has to go for query and amendment, and all of these waste time,’’ he said.
The controller said that the NCS was ready to take over from the contractors of destination inspection by June, 2013.
Unconfirmed reports have it that those arrested were taken to the Panti Police station in Yaba.
Yesterday’s raid was the second in about two years. The notorious canteen was first raided in 2011, when several licensed customs agents were arrested and locked up for many days.
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