Freight  Forwarder accuses Customs of shielding erring officers in criminal cases

A critical stakeholder in the freight forwarding subsector of the Nigeria maritime industry, Prince  Bakare Adeyinka has called on the management of the Nigerian Customs Service to stop shielding its officers and men involved in any container examination infractions in order to make the fight against smuggling holistic.

Prince Adeyinka told newsmen in Lagos recently that an open and transparent disciplinary measures on its officers and men who are found culpable in releasing containers intercepted by its operatives on the highways would go in no small measure to curb the menace.

Adeyinka, who is the President General of NAFFAC, stated that it was not enough for the management of the NCS to always shield its officers from complicity whenever cargoes are intercepted for infractions or for smuggling by saying that “officers arrested in connection with these consignments had been subjected to internal disciplinary measures of the service.”

Adeyinka observed that to stem the tide of smuggling and infractions in cargo clearance, the importer, his agent as well as the customs officers found culpable should be named and shamed much as they are punished for the crime.

He further challenged the service to carry the public along in any disciplinary measure adopted to punish its erring officers just as the Nigeria Police Force do in order to restore public confidence in the entire process.

In his words,” We are doing one hundred per cent examination of cargo at the seaport for instance, not using scanners, some agencies’ officers will inspect the containers and somebody will lift the box before it was loaded and driven out of the port. After arresting the container, what happens to those that released the container? What has been done to them?

“They should give us the internal mechanism that is not known to us; let us see the internal mechanism that they are using. The Police will tell you we dismissed this officer because of this, we arrested this officer because of this, this officer was taken to court because of this. That is the internal mechanism that we are talking about.

“Why giving us number of people that we do not know? Who are they? Currently, they are doing destruction of Tramadol, who are the people behind it? It is not enough to say they are destroying Tramadol, who are the agencies behind it, who are the forwarders behind it? Who are the shippers? What is the country of origin? What diplomatic steps have government taken against them for allowing those shipments?

“Customs should do more in letting the public be part of the internal mechanism it uses to discipline its erring officer so as to restore public confidence in the entire process.”

Meanwhile, attempts to get the National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Joseph Attah were not successful as his telephone number was not going through as at press time