Market News

By Anozie Egole

Stakeholders in the nation’s maritime industry have stated that the country is losing billions to container blockages at the Lagos ports, a development that has sparked widespread outrage and calls for an end to the duplication of the port clearance process by the Maritime Police.

This is even as they accused officers of the Maritime Police of orchestrating several container blockages at the Lagos Ports.

Container blockage refers to the detention, delay, or restriction of cargo containers within a port or along the logistics chain after they have arrived for clearance, and in some cases after relevant authorities have already cleared them. When a container is blocked, it cannot be moved out of the port or delivered to its final destination.

The experts, who disclosed this in Lagos during a stakeholders’ engagement organised by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council on Saturday, accused officers of the command of detaining already cleared containers at the ports, citing various reasons for the detention.

According to stakeholders drawn from freight forwarding associations, truck owners, terminal operators, and importers, over 1,500 containers worth billions of naira are allegedly being blocked monthly by policemen using the vessels’ manifests, leading to significant financial losses for the affected parties.

They highlighted that once cargoes have passed examination and been duly cleared by the Nigeria Customs Service and other government agencies, post-clearance interceptions amount to a breakdown of process integrity and regulatory coordination.

They stressed that such actions expose importers to excessive demurrage, storage charges, and contract defaults, while eroding confidence in Nigeria’s port system among global trading partners.

The General Manager of Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited, Mr Babatunde Keshiro, noted that the core issue is a lack of sincerity of purpose and the practice of parallel authority.

“Whatever concerns or reservations they observe on these cargoes should be raised during the examination. Once the cargo has been cleared and exited the ports, there shouldn’t be any ploy to delay it. No letter, no sanction should arise after that. I want to draw the attention of industry stakeholders to the Executive Order that was given in 2022, directing the stoppage of this practice of intercepting already cleared and released containers,” Keshinro stated.

The Apapa Chapter Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Emeka Chukwumalu, said the Police must be ready to bear the financial consequences of demurrage whenever containers are blocked after clearance.

Similarly, the PTML Chapter Chairman of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Abayomi Duyile, accused shipping companies of aiding the practice by releasing cargo manifests to the Police, describing it as “illegal and contrary to international shipping standards.”

Other speakers, including the President of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners, Chief Remi Ogungbemi, and representatives of joint freight forwarding associations, echoed concerns that container blocking after clearance disrupts port operations and shifts inefficiencies onto port users.

In his response, the organiser of the event, who is also the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Dr Pius Akutah, said the NSC’s engagement with security agencies is solely to protect cargo interests and ensure safety within the port environment.

“Our role is not to complicate your business or impose additional costs. We work with the Police to secure cargoes, but we also intervene when stakeholders complain, and many such complaints are promptly resolved,” Akutah said.

Head of the Complaints Unit at the NSC, Dr Bashir Ambi, said, “I have been having sleepless nights because our reputation is being damaged. Let me state it clearly: the Complaints Unit of the NSC has never and will never collect a kobo for its services. Rather, we are constantly engaging, and in fact confronting, the Maritime Police over the issue of blocking containers that have already been cleared at the ports.”

He urged stakeholders to resist paying unreceipted fees and to submit petitions with evidence through the NSC for redress.

Reacting to the accusations, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Maritime Police Command, Adebayo Rasheed, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, defended the practice, insisting that container blocking is intelligence-driven and cannot be halted in the interest of national security.

Rasheed cited recent interceptions of arms and tramadol concealed in already cleared containers, assuring stakeholders that the Police would not compromise security for trade facilitation, while urging those with evidence of extortion to petition the appropriate authorities. According to him, “blocking of containers by the Police cannot be stopped.”