By Godfrey Bivbere

Between July and this month, three offensive consignments have been shipped into this country. The first was the 13 containers of arms and ammunition which came in through Apapa port but was only discovered last month when the owners tried to moved them out of the country.

The second was the seizure of 450.4 kilogrammes of high grade cocaine by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), with an estimated street value of over N4 billion and was the second largest ever in the country.
The last and most recent was last weeks haul of heroin worth $9.9 million hidden in auto parts shipped from Iran by NDLEA.

The worrying aspect of the whole issue is the alleged connection or mention of CMA CGM Shipping line in conveying these goods..
CMA CGM S.A. which is a French container transportation and shipping company, is headed by Jacques Saadéé. It is the third largest container company in the world, using 200 shipping routes between 400 ports in 150 different countries.

Its headquarters are in Marseille, and its North American headquarters are in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. The history of CMA CGM can be traced back to 1851 when Messageries Maritimes (MM) was established. Another component company, Compagnie Géénéérale Maritime (CGM), was founded in 1855 and renamed as Compagnie Géénéérale Transatlantique in 1861. The two companies merged to form Compagnie Géénéérale Maritime in 1973 as a French state-run entity.

The question now is, what should the Nigerian government do or should have done to any Shipping line involved in the shipment of offensive cargo, what does the international/national say on issues such as this?

To get answers to the above question, PortsandHarbours went out to seek the view of industry operators.
Lucky Amewiro, factional President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA): Government should make it mandatary for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to be involved in Pre-import of all of all goods coming into the country. This he noted will give the Service the opportunity evaluate the security first of every import as is obtainable in developed nations of the world.
Amewiro explained that while he is tempted to say that the Shipping line involved should be liable but however noted that they (Shipping Lines) are not aware of the content of any container, just like the Customs may not be aware.

He concluded that there is need for greater collaboration between Customs of various countries and Customs and other security agencies in any country if the desired security is to be achieved. Finally, he pointed out that government most as a matter of urgency, empower the NCS to commence registration all importers in the country for proper monitoring and screening for verification of each imports.

Hon. Tony Nwabudike, Immediate past Chairman of Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN). Any Shipping Line involved in such offensive import should be “penalized or closed up,” he said. Government should put in place process that will all Shipping Lines in check because the re-current importation of offensive port is becoming worrisome.

Nwobudike explained that the vessel with which such imports are brought should be impounded and the Shipping line penalized. Since most of them claim that they do not know what an importer stocks the container with, they (Shipping Lines) most make an extra effort ascertain what they are conveying.

According to heim, “is it possible for these companies who operate internationally to take such imports to the United States or any other developed country for that matter? He required.

Francis Omotosho of Francis Omotosho and Associates and a chieftain of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA); in his response said there are laws governing the shipment of contraband and illegal consignment. Omotosho noted that before any import ships his/her consignment, such importer most first apply for empty container before it is loaded.

Since the Shipping Line issues the bill of laden, he continued, they most ensure that they ascertain the content of the container. He said if the Shipping line are not sure of what is in the container because they have not seen the content, they should indicate same in the bill of laden which will give security officials of the port were the cargo is going reason to scrutinize it when it arrives at the port of destination.