The Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Alhaji Mamman Tsafe, has directed police officers under the zone to desist from interfering in cargo clearance at the ports.
Tsafe, who gave the directive last Friday during a meeting with the Assistant Comptroller General of Customs Zone A, Victor Gbemudu, and stakeholders in his office at Onikan, Lagos, also said that he has directed the Commissioners of the Lagos State Police Command and the Port Authority Police Command to restrain their officers from harassing customs agents in and around the ports.
The police boss, who was responding to complaints of incessant harassment of agents by policemen, pleaded that all the grievances of the agents be documented and forwarded to his office while copies should be sent to the Inspector General of Police, Comptroller General of Customs and the Assistant Comptroller General of Customs Zone A for prompt action.
Some senior police officers who attended the meeting complained of being treated with disdain by port users prompting the police officers’ aggressive reaction.
Stakeholders present at the meeting include the National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu; founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr Boniface Aniebonam; Chairman of ANLCA Tin Can Chapter, Kayode Collins Farinto and Secretary of ANLCA Apapa Chapter, Olumide Fakanlu. Customs Area Comptrollers in charge of Apapa, Tin Can and PTML Commands; Dahiru Umar, Tunji Aremu and Zabairu Jubrin respectively also attended the meeting.
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