Freight forwarders under the aegis of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) have cried out over excessive extortion of her members by the Nigeria Police.
The body has, therefore, threatened service withdrawal if the Marine Police continues blocking containers and collecting excessive charges for cargoes already cleared and certified for movement by the Customs.
Coordinator, NAGAFF 100% Compliance Team, Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko issued the threat in a 4-page petition dated August 22, 2023 forwarded to the Inspector- General of the Nigeria Police, Kayode Egbetokun, Wednesday.
The petition drew the attention of the IGP that freight forwarders plying their trade at the Lagos ports are currently in a restive mood over barefaced extortions, harassment and intimidation they continue to suffer in the hands of the maritime police.
The activities of police officers in this direction have considerably impeded facilitation of trade.
Tanko, an elected member of the governing board of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) said that in connivance with shipping companies, the Police indiscriminately stop and detain containers already exited from the ports for the sole purpose of extorting money from the owners.
The extortionist tendencies of the police, he recalled, were minimal under the administration of the immediate-past police IG following the outcry of the oppressed freight forwarders. But now, he lamented, the menace has resumed in a larger measure. The police now carry out their extortions in the open and with a lot of bravado.
“Since the advent of the new administration, the officers and men of the Maritime Police have not only resumed these activities but are 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 go into fisticuffs with the officers of the Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service”.
NAGAFF, in her petition, wondered where the police officers perpetrating the menace were when the Customs, in collaboration with other sister agencies, arrested containers with drugs, arms and ammunition. They looked the other way while prohibited goods were being ferried into the country under their watch.
Tanko appealed for prompt intervention by the new IGP in order to calm the frayed nerves of the harassed freight forwarders and stave off impending showdown with the police officers involved in the extortion.
“We therefore, respectfully urge you Sir,” NAGAFF told the IGP, “to call the Maritime Police to order and save the ports from an imminent restiveness that may paralyze business activities and further cause economic loss to government revenue.
The aggrieved freight forwarders threatened that they may have no option than to go on protest which may result in a possible shutdown of the seaports if urgent steps are not taken by the Police hierarchy to address the matter.
