In March this year, gun-wielding Customs officers from the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) in Ikeja stormed the Apapa office of the factional president of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed, Mr Lucky Amiwero, allegedly rough-handled him and took him on a tortuous journey that lasted more than one week.
Mr Amiwero was first detained at the FOU cell for almost one week and later arraigned at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, he was later granted bail. The case is still pending.
In March this year, gun-wielding Customs officers from the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) in Ikeja stormed the Apapa office of the factional president of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed, Mr Lucky Amiwero, allegedly rough-handled him and took him on a tortuous journey that lasted more than one week.
Mr Amiwero was first detained at the FOU cell for almost one week and later arraigned at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, he was later granted bail. The case is still pending.
His arrest was said to have been prompted by his alleged continuous claim to the presidency of his association. A rival president; Prince Festus Ejiofor was later to confirm to this newspaper that he was instrumental to Mr Amiwero’s travail.
While Mr Amiwero was being subjected to the undeserved humiliation in the hands of the Customs, no freight forwarder spoke in his favour, obviously for reasons that are not far from not wanting to ‘offend’ Customs and for personal issues with Amiwero.
We recall that, his face-off with the Nigeria Customs Service was not unconnected with the petition that he wrote to the Presidency, the National Assembly headship and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Minister of Finance in which he drew attention to the illegality of the then- Customs benchmark on import duty. The petition necessitated the cancellation of the controversial policy.
So, when about two weeks ago, a senior Customs officer (one Assistant Controller Jayne Shoboki) personally led military men to the national headquarters of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) in Apapa, it was not entirely surprisingly.
The decision to go for the founder of the association was not surprising either. Again, allegation of petition was the motivation. Dr Boniface Aniebonam was not the author of the petition against the Customs officer; his association did.
While not playing the devil’s advocate here, is it not likely that the Tin Can Island chapter of NAGAFF from where the petition originated is considered ‘inconsequential’, hence the decision to go for the association’s symbol of resilience and doggedness in the person of its founder; Dr Aniebonam.
Sadly however, just as it happened during the travail of Mr Amiwero, during which he was gloated by his own constituency as having been punished deservedly for daring to challenge the Customs, Dr Aniebonam does not enjoy as much sympathy or even empathy for the invasion by the soldiers, not even the invitation by the Police was able to sway this. All the support has come from NAGAFF members who unrepentantly believe in his approach (which he has also implanted in them).
The travails of both Mr Lucky Amiwero and that of Dr Boniface Aniebonam is a confirmation of what was foretold by the newspaper when the former was arrested, brutalized, detained and arraigned. So who is next?
The worry here is that, the respective actions of Customs and the Army personnel in the Amiwero and Aniebonam ‘cases’ smirk of lack of respect for civility and the rule of law. The most civil thing for either the Customs or the senior officer (Mrs Shoboki) to do is to go to court. While the officer may even have a locus standi in the NAGAFF face-off with her, the Nigeria Customs Service did the most uncivilized thing to Mr Amiwero.
As for freight forwarders, the sooner they learn to rally round their own, the better for them. Amiwero did not write the petition for self aggrandisement, it was in the overall interest of all practitioners. NAGAFF did not write the petition (in which it alleged extortion) for the benefit of its members alone, because had it elicited positive response from Mrs Shoboki, all practitioners; including NAGAFF, ANLCA, etc, would have benefitted.
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