National Assembly Considers Special Courts To Auction Abandoned Port Containers

The National Assembly may soon amend the Nigerian Customs Act to
make provision for the establishment of special courts to auction
abandoned containers at the nation’s ports.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Customs and
Excise, Leke Abejide, gave the hint on Tuesday during an engagement
with stakeholders in the maritime sector.

The acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority,
Mohammed Bello-Koko, told the panel that there were over 5,000
containers occupying spaces in all the nation’s ports.

Bello-Koko said, “There are over 5,000 overtime containers in
Nigeria in all the terminals. Some of them are a year old at the
ports because the NCS has not auctioned any cargo in recent
time.

“They are occupying spaces that should have been used to
accommodate new ones being imported into the country.”

Responding, the Deputy Comptroller General of the Nigerian
Customs Service, who is in charge of Tariff and Trade, Talhatu Isa,
said the containers could actually be abandoned or being kept by
the importers pending when they would raise enough money to pay for
warehouse.

She said, “On the issue of containers littering the ports, we
have to find out their status.

“We will have to know if they are overtime containers or they
had been released but the owners are just keeping them because they
don’t have money to pay for warehouses, so they are now keeping
them at the ports for free storage.”

The Chairman of the committee explained that the Comptroller
General of the NCS, Colonel Hameed Ali (retd), recently told him
that the court process was delaying the auctioning of the abandoned
containers.

Abejide said, “We will hold a meeting with the Customs CG and
his top officials to see the possibility of amending the Customs
Act for the establishment of special courts to sit on the issue of
auctioning overtime containers at the ports”

Abejide also frowned at constant seizure of already cleared
vehicles and demanded that Customs officers who authorise their
release when the right duty was not paid, should henceforth be
sanctioned.

He said, “The customs officers who release vehicles whose owners
didn’t pay the correct duty must henceforth be sanctioned.

“An importer brings a vehicle through the ports and got it
cleared without paying the appropriate duty. Why do you have to go
after the owners without sanctioning the officers that released
them?

“Such officers should henceforth be sanctioned.”

Isa, however, justified the stop and check being done by Customs
officers on suspected vehicles on the roads.

She said, “On the Custom’s officers stopping imported cars on
the road, there are situations where an importer or the broker
decided to beg Customs officers to reduce the duty payable on a
vehicle and the officer obliged.

“However, when another officer who decide to do the proper thing
could suspect such vehicle and demand for the papers.

“If the appropriate duty had not been paid, they will ask the
car owner to go and pay the correct duty.”

The National Assembly may soon amend the Nigerian Customs Act to
make provision for the establishment of special courts to auction
abandoned containers at the nation’s ports.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Customs and
Excise, Leke Abejide, gave the hint on Tuesday during an engagement
with stakeholders in the maritime sector.

The acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority,
Mohammed Bello-Koko, told the panel that there were over 5,000
containers occupying spaces in all the nation’s ports.

Bello-Koko said, “There are over 5,000 overtime containers in
Nigeria in all the terminals. Some of them are a year old at the
ports because the NCS has not auctioned any cargo in recent
time.

“They are occupying spaces that should have been used to
accommodate new ones being imported into the country.”

Responding, the Deputy Comptroller General of the Nigerian
Customs Service, who is in charge of Tariff and Trade, Talhatu Isa,
said the containers could actually be abandoned or being kept by
the importers pending when they would raise enough money to pay for
warehouse.

She said, “On the issue of containers littering the ports, we
have to find out their status.

“We will have to know if they are overtime containers or they
had been released but the owners are just keeping them because they
don’t have money to pay for warehouses, so they are now keeping
them at the ports for free storage.”

The Chairman of the committee explained that the Comptroller
General of the NCS, Colonel Hameed Ali (retd), recently told him
that the court process was delaying the auctioning of the abandoned
containers.

Abejide said, “We will hold a meeting with the Customs CG and
his top officials to see the possibility of amending the Customs
Act for the establishment of special courts to sit on the issue of
auctioning overtime containers at the ports”

Abejide also frowned at constant seizure of already cleared
vehicles and demanded that Customs officers who authorise their
release when the right duty was not paid, should henceforth be
sanctioned.

He said, “The customs officers who release vehicles whose owners
didn’t pay the correct duty must henceforth be sanctioned.

“An importer brings a vehicle through the ports and got it
cleared without paying the appropriate duty. Why do you have to go
after the owners without sanctioning the officers that released
them?

“Such officers should henceforth be sanctioned.”

Isa, however, justified the stop and check being done by Customs
officers on suspected vehicles on the roads.

She said, “On the Custom’s officers stopping imported cars on
the road, there are situations where an importer or the broker
decided to beg Customs officers to reduce the duty payable on a
vehicle and the officer obliged.

“However, when another officer who decide to do the proper thing
could suspect such vehicle and demand for the papers.

“If the appropriate duty had not been paid, they will ask the
car owner to go and pay the correct duty.”