By Godfrey Bivbere

Weeks after a violent protest was averted at the Kirirkiri Lighter Terminal (KLT) Police Command following the high_handedness of officers of the Port Police Command who want to perform Customs function, the KLT Police recently arrested an agent for allegedly having excess luggage.

The Clearing agent whose name could not be ascertain as at the time of filing this report was accosted by a police officer at the exit gate of the terminal and demanded for the duty paid on few cartons taken from the 40 footer container of Motor_cycle spare parts.

The agent told the police that the appropriate duty was paid on the consignment and it as been cleared by the Customs authority. He further explained that he was given a covering note for the cartons taken from the container but the police officer refused to let him and the container go even when the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) officials at the gate confirmed that all the documents are correct.

Despite pleas by the NPA officials to allow the agent go fell on deaf ears, they (NPA officials) asked the driver of the truck conveying the container to go because it was compounding the already chaotic traffic situation at the gate.
This action infuriated the police officer who practically dragged the agent to the station.

On taking to the police station where the report was waiting for a contact, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Superintendent of Police Hope Okafor, ordered the agent to be detained until the next day and drove away.

Two colleagues of the agent, one of whom simply identified himself as Mr. Chris, played a call to some he said is the founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, to ask him to intervene since they are members of the above body.

Mr Chris was told by the person on the other side of the phone to give it to the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) who refused to take the phone. According to the DCO, he can not do anything about the situation until he hears from the DPO.

An eye witness who was around during the time incident that occurred few weeks back, Mr Ifeayin Ezechukwu, told PortsandHarbour that the attitude of the DPO clearance of goods from that terminal has emboldened her officers who are now taking laws into their hands.

Ezechukwu explained that previous incident which almost resulted in a riot was triggered off by one police officer (name withheld) who went to participate in examination where he demand of one tape player from the importers agent.

According to Ezechukwu, when he was obliged and again asked for another item. When the agent refused, Ezechukwu continued, the police officer went to went for the container in front of their station where he informed other officers and the container was detained.
This infuriated other agents who went to the station threatening to burn it down unless the containers was released.

It took the intervention of officials of NAGAFF and Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs agents (ANLCA) at the national level to bribng the situation under control, Ezechukwu concluded.