Eromosele Abiodun
There is a growing agitation among freight forwarders plying their trade at the Lagos ports over what they described as the proliferation of Customs units which they alleged are being used for extortions and to encumber the clearance procedures at the ports.
The concerned agents, who warned that their patience was running out over what they claimed was the mindless extortions they are being subjected to, alleged that the multiple Customs units not only complicate and elongate the clearing process, but have also added to the cost of doing business at the ports.
Speaking on behalf of agents, Vice-President, Western Zone of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Tanko Ibrahim, lamented that apart from the resident Customs officers and Federal Operations Unit (FOU), the Customs authority has created what it called Strike Force team and Customs Police.
According to him, “We have never witnessed what is happening now in customs clearing process. Apart from the traditional resident Customs officers and the FOU, which are involved in cargo clearing process, there are other units newly created by Customs hierarchy to muddle up cargo clearance procedures.
“They are CG strike force and Customs Police. All these units are doing the same thing. They all want to be part of cargo clearing process. When your goods have been cleared by the resident Customs officers at the ports, these other units, which are alien to the cargo clearance procedures, will delay your goods through issuance of indiscriminate alerts and inordinate engagement in arrest of containers. This frustrates quick clearance of goods, make nonsense of ease of doing business initiative of the Federal Government and add to the cost of transactions.”
However, the Customs authority said any freight forwarder who does not have anything to hide should not be agitated over the new structure.
The Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Joseph Attah, said it was not within the jurisdiction of any freight forwarder to question the structure in the Customs or how Customs should do its duty.
He explained that the strike force team is not involved in cargo clearing process but to act on information to impound containers that are enmeshed in infractions in clearance procedures.
Attah, further disclosed that the Customs Police is a new creation meant to instil discipline in the service.
“The Customs Police is just like military police. It was created to restore discipline within the service. They can invite, arrest and detain Customs officers based on any disciplinary breach.
“They do not interfere in clearance procedures but unless there is a reported case and need for their intervention in a case that involves agents and customs officers. Their primary duty is to restore discipline in the service,” he insisted.
He said the strike force is known to Customs operations and whoever states otherwise is being mischievous.
“The authority created three layers of security to check abuses of clearing process and plug revenue leakages. The first layer is the resident Customs, the second layer is the FOU while the strike force is the third layer.
“If you beat one, you can’t beat the others. There is no way you can beat all the three layers,” Attah declared.
He said rather than condemn the structure and engage in generic accusation of all the units, the agitating agents should identify any officer in any of these units who is involved in any form of malpractices for appropriate sanction.
However, Tanko insisted that these units do not confine themselves to their so called primary duties, but rather want to be involved in examination of cargo.
“Whether your container is involved in any infraction or not, the strike force will arrest your container and knowing what you will face if the container is taken to the Customs training school where they are based, agents quickly part with money to avoid delay,” he alleged.
According to him, if a container is taken to their office, the officers will subject the owner to inhuman treatment before they ask him to pay for unloading the contents for physical examination and loading, even when nothing incriminating is found.
