By Godfrey Bivbere
Duncan Maritime Services, operators of Duncan Bonded Terminal has dragged the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to the federal high court in Lagos over illegal occupation of the facility for 14 days, an action the firm said resulted in the loss of N1.8 billion.

Disclosing this to Vanguard, Managing Director of Duncan Maritime Ventures, Dr. Godfrey Shitgurum, wondered why the management of NPA would order the port police command to go and chase out its workers and other government security agencies working at the terminal, allowing hoodlums to take over the place.

Shitgurum noted that the closure of the terminal for 14 days has prevented them from not only performing their function to their customers but also deprived the ship that would have stemmed at the terminal from doing so.
He pointed out that all importers and their agents who stemmed their cargoes at the terminal were unable to clear their goods and such cargo owners would be forced to pay demurrage of their cargo for a fault that is not theirs.

Following the forceful occupation, he said that Duncan management had written to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to intimate the serve on the development.

The letter dated September 7, 2010 and signed by Larry Peters Bawa, Executive Director of Duncan, read in part “The above premises has been a subject of litigation between us and Nigerian ports Plc in suit No. FHC/L/CS/708/05 since 2005 when NPA attempted to illegally eject our company from the above premises.

The federal High Court sitting coram Hon. Justice Tijuni Abukarkar on 20th January, 2009 gave judgement in favour of Duncan Maritime Ventures Ltd.”

Officers of the Port Police Command last week laid siege on Duncan Bonded Terminal located within the Tin-can Island Port. When Vanguard visited the facility, there were about 15 police officer standing guard at the entrance of the terminal preventing people including port users wishing to transact business from entering the terminal.

One of the officers who spoke with Vanguard said they were given order to come and maintain peace at the terminal and directed our reporter to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Tin-can Island Police Command.

Although efforts to see the DPO of Tin-can Island was unsuccessful, the Port Police Commissioner, Hillary Opara, told Vanguard on phone that the presence of the police officers is as a result of a directive from the legal department of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

According to Opara, there is a dispute over the ownership of the facility and the presence of the officers is to ensure that the properties in the terminal are not vandalised.

He further explained that a meeting has been scheduled between the police and all the aggrieved parties at the port. He noted that an amicable settlement would soon be reached to allow operations to commence once more at the terminal.

It was gathered that trouble stated last week when a company, Landwood Nigeria Ltd., in connivance with the Estate Manager of Tin-can Island Port of the NPA and some top management staff, told the Port Police Commissioner that some people were occupying the property in question illegally.

A source close to the Tin-can Port told Vanguard that the Police Commissioner had released some officers to dislodge occupants including officials of NPA, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), staff of Duncan etc from the facility. But unknown to the Commissioner, the ownership of the terminal has been in dispute and the case has been in court in the last couple of years.