By Godwin Oritse

The management of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC, has directed freight forwarders operating at the nation’s seaports to ignore unauthorized policemen that are involved in the illegal interception of already cleared cargoes from the seaports.

Giving this directive in Lagos, when the Maritime Police Command led by Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG Abdul Danwawu, paid him a courtesy visit, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Council, Mr Hassan Bello, said these activities of the Police were denigrating the clearing processes at the Nigerian seaports.

He stated: “Men and officers of the Police have no business in the interception of cargoes cleared from the ports.”

He expressed the Council’s readiness to embrace the order by the IG to address the unwholesome practices by police.

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He maintained that the NSC’s mandate as Port Economic Regulator is to sanitize the ports, ensure that costs remain reasonable and Nigeria competes with other countries in terms of best practices.

Danwawu assured stakeholders that the Maritime Police Command would always seek directives from NSC when it concerns stoppage of containers.

“The Marine Police Command will cooperate with NSC to make the ports meet its aspirations”, he stated.