Only In Lawless Nigeria::150 Overtime containers allegedly missing

150 Overtime containers allegedly missing
By Andrew Airahuobhor, Correspondent, Lagos

There are strong indications that some Nigerians may have formed themselves into a cartel for auctioning overtime cargo transferred to Ikorodu Lighter Terminal, which the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) recently handed over to the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).
More than 100 containers have allegedly disappeared from the almost 1,000 overtime containers that were transferred to the terminal in February, in the peak of the congestion that bedeviled Lagos seaports.

Investigation also revealed that some containers transferred to the terminal were allegedly forced open by customs officers in conjunction with the auction cartel, and if found to contain vehicles, it will be auctioned at a very ridiculous price.

Daily Independent gathered that some group of 'touts,' allegedly fronting for some customs comptrollers and lawmakers in Abuja, gather around the terminal to monitor the containers being transferred there.

These comptrollers and lawmakers are said to be tipping some 'touts' who loiter the terminal to identify the containers with valuable goods worth several millions of Naira. This is apparently to mark them for auction.

Sapid Bonded Terminal, a service provider in the terminal is even confused at the situation as it said to be receiving an average of 40 allocation papers daily from Abuja.

At the peak of congestion at the Lagos ports, the NPA was directed to oversee the transfer of containers that have stayed more than 90 days in the ports to Ikorodu.

This was done to create space at the ports, which was having lots of overtime containers.

Almost a thousand containers were transferred to Ikorodu before another 2,000 were slated to be transferred to Onne port in Rivers State as Ikorodu could no longer hold more containers because of the topography, which cannot hold heavy equipment.

The federal government had also directed that owners of the containers could go ahead with payment of duty and the necessary documentation in order to clear their consignments from Ikorodu.

But some of the agents got to Ikorodu to discover that the same container on which they have paid duty had been allocated to another person in the name of auction.

The national presidential liaison officer of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Pius Ogudo, in a petition he wrote to NAGAFF president, said that many people are gathered at the terminal, looking for auction containers to buy, which are usually sold at very ridiculous prices.

Ogudo, who is a customs agent, wondered why Sapid should have more than 400 auction papers ready for delivery, when customs have not commenced auctioning process.

According to him, his container, which has two Peugeot 207 cars, was allocated to an unknown person before he could present evidence for payment of duty.

Daily Independent contacted the general manager, Western Port Operations, of NPA, Mohammed Bulangu, who supervised the transfer of overtime containers to Ikorodu in February, on the issue, and he pointed out that NPA was no longer in charge of Ikorodu terminal.

According to him, NPA only got involved in the transfer because of congestion, as part of measures taken to decongest the ports, noting that all the necessary documentation were done and after ensuring that the containers landed at the terminal, customs took over custody of them.

When contacted, Customs Area Controller of ILT, Comptroller O. Olojo denied knowledge of any missing container claiming that he releases only containers that are duly documented.

"Thank you for the information. You can go ahead and publish anything, there are no containers disappearing here, I release containers that are duly documented," Olojo told Daily Independent on telephone Thursday.

When asked why containers are auctioned before customs headquarters commenced process of auctioning, he said, "I don't know anything about auction. Any container that is auctioned is auctioned. I don't know about that."

Efforts to contact the ACG headquarters proved abortive as he was said to be in a meeting.