The new Area Commander, Western Ports Police Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Assistant Commissioner Presley Dode has said that his officers have the right to check, stop and detain any truck with containers that they suspect is carrying illegal goods even after it has gone through clearance processes at the port.
Presley said this when he paid a courtesy visit to the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) in Apapa, Lagos on Wednesday.
“The reason for my visit is to appeal to NAGAFF to assist us in performing our job because the police cannot do it alone. You are to help us with viable information and ensuring us that the right thing is done by members of the association and this will make the job of police easier,” he said.
Presley said, “The vacuum left by the former Area Commander will be properly filled by me. My function as the Commander does not end at the port. I remain a police officer anywhere and everywhere and I can be called upon to correct every anomalies observed.
“Let us try to work as one and ensure that the industry is free of bribery and corruption in order to make it a better one.”
NAGAFF Board of Trustees Chairman, Chidiebere Enelamah said communication was germane to the partnership between the association and theNPF.
“We know the job of Police is to maintain law and orders and NAGAFF will always be prepared to partner with Nigeria Police Force. We have done that in the past with your successor by collaborating with him and yours is not going to be an exception.
“You should notify us if our members are defaulting in anyway and we are obliged to call your attention whenever we notice any anomaly at the ports or when your officers call us and we expect that you compassionately look into it,” Enelamah said.
“We always preach orderliness and that is why we opened NAGAFF Academy and we use this academy to train our members and even the immediate past President [of NAGAFF] was a product of the school but today the academy is no more functioning because it was financially intensive to run.
“There is a collaboration between NAGAFF and Redeemers University to develop young ones, every Saturday there is always assemblage of youngsters who come to acquire knowledge and the lectures are from the university,” he said.
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