A maritime pressure group, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNIFFIEC) have issued a 7-days ultimatum to the officers of the Nigerian Police Force operating at the nation's seaports to stop forthwith the interception of dully cleared cargoes coming out of the port.
A maritime pressure group, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNIFFIEC) have issued a 7-days ultimatum to the officers of the Nigerian Police Force operating at the nation's seaports to stop forthwith the interception of dully cleared cargoes coming out of the port.
National Coordinator of the group, Sir, Osita Chukwu told Shipping Position Daily yesterday that should the Police fail to comply with this ultimatum, the group will have no option than to drag the various units of the police engaging in this act before the Federal High Court.
Narrating how the police usually frustrate the clearance process, Osita said that letters are written by the police to shipping companies, directing them not to release a particular cargo they are interested in.
The port activist said that most of the claims of the police in the letters does not conform with global and conventional laws and it thereby constitute cargo delays.
It also leads to demurrages and congestion inside the port. "We have given the Nigerian police a 7-days ultimatum, if they fail to restrain their officers from issuing such letters, we have no further option than to seek clarification from the Federal High Court"
"They issue letters to stop container clearance and release of containers from the port as a result of falsehood"
"How can the police be seizing a full vessel by writing on a Bill of Laden, they don't even know the container number, they just compound the whole issue by writing on the Bill of Laden, each bill of laden has at least 100 containers or 50 containers, but the police would not know they have seized a whole vessel by writing letter for stoppage of that Bill of Laden"
"By the time the shipping companies sees this letters, it leads to delays in delivery because when the cargo owners come to pick the container he will be delayed by the police for questioning" he said
Chief Osita alleged that the major reason why the police stop containers and invite the agent is to collect bribes, he said that it is not done for the sake of national security. According to him, Nigeria lost over N1billion yearly as a result of police interference of cargoes at the ports.
He assured readiness of his members to partner with the Nigeria Customs Service in its new fight against corruption and corrupt practices by officers and agents at the ports as being campaigned by the new Comptroller General of Customs, Col Hameed Ali. "If you are doing the right thing, you will not be scared of anybody arresting you, we don't even need the CG of Customs Hameed Ali to come and tell us this, we all know it, only that the agencies of government that are supposed to carry out these responsibilities are not performing their duties"
"Defrauding the government through cargo clearance is an act of economic sabotage because government would not get its funds to
develop the country, so we support the coming of the new customs boss, it is in order" he said.
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