Don’t inspect CERTAIN Containers - Abdullahi Diko Nigeria's Comptroller-General of Customs directs officials

Don’t inspect CERTAIN Containers - Abdullahi Diko Nigeria's Comptroller-General of Customs directs officials

A directive from the Nigeria's Comptroller-General of Customs, Abdullahi Diko to officials of the custom department at the Apapa ports has warned the officials not to inspect certain imports from Europe. This has raised concerns of overt sabotage of government directives regarding contraband and foreign exchange usage or perhaps the acquiescence of the government. 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently released a list of items that should not qualify for foreign exchange access to enable their importation into the country. The list includes toothpicks, textiles and furniture, among others. These goods are classified as contraband and custom officials are by government directive not allowed to clear such into the country. 

However, there are indications that the Nigeria Customs boss may have been colluding with importers of such contraband goods to allow their entry and circulation in Nigeria especially through the Apapa ports. Mr. Dikko, impeccable sources said, directed his men to allow the containers on arrival into the ports to be transferred to bonded terminals and subsequent release to the importers without the statutory physical inspection or by scanning at the ports. 

There have also been concerns that some of these consignments may not only be contraband goods but could be questionable shipments. Quoting a source conversant with operations at the ports  “security agencies should be concerned about this, given the rising state of insecurity occasioned by rising Boko Haram attacks in recent times.” 

And by implication, these imports are questionable, as they seem have been fleecing the Nigerian economy of billions of naira as the importers had access to official foreign exchange rates to undertake the shady transactions. The goods are listed on shipment manifest mostly as manicure/pedicure sets and industrial sealing machines but instead of subjecting them to inspection and verification, “orders came from our ogas that the consignments be released to importers without the required due process,” said another source. 

Alhaji Abdullahi Diko Nigeria's Comptroller-General of Customs

In one instance, a MAERSK Calabar/CMA-CGM vessel with voyage No. 8M120E which arrived Apapa port in June, 2015, contained five of such contraband containers. They are: B/L No: DEM0121817; B/L No: DEM0121765; B/L No: DRUN004554; B/L No: DPPC101939; and B/L No: QDGY004478. These shipments were moved to a certain DonClimax Bonded Terminal said to be owned by a top Customs official from where they are subsequently released to the importer, indicated in official documents as Fedobra Ventures Ltd. 

In another shipment which arrived Nigeria also in June via a Grande Cotonou vessel with Voyage No. GCT0315, about 20 such contraband containers were passed through same contravention directive of the federal government. Some of the containers included: B/L No. S310326328; B/L No. S310276403; B/L No. S310293605; and B/L No. S310290121, among others.

-Pointblank News