By Godfrey Bivbere

The recent seizure of about 450 kilograms of Cocaine by officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has caused a big division between officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

Similarly, a group under the aegis of National Council of Managing Director of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) has questioned the motive of NDLEA embarking on the intelligence exercise without informing officials of Customs in accordance to the law establishing it.

The Customs officers Vanguard gathered, are split with one group for and the other against the manner of operation by men of the NDLEA.

Those against have commended the NDLEA officials for a job well done and have reasoned that the success would not have been achieved should other security agencies had been informed of the offensive container.

However, those against the mode of operation engaged by the NDLEA explained that there is a sinister motive which the drug agency hopes to achieve. They noted that all the security agencies in the port, who also took part in the examination of the offensive container could not detect the presence of the offensive cargo.

They argued that the recent call for the reduction of number of security agencies in the port may be the reason  behind the action of the drug agency.

They noted that the same thing happened a few years back at the height of similar calls by operators for the reduction of security agencies at the port.

Meanwhile, a senior Customs officer in one of the Commands in Lagos told Vanguard that NDLEAshould be absolved of any blame because they have succeeded in clearing large volume of the drugs from the streets.

The officer explained that Customs can not be blamed entirely because other security agencies, comprising State Security Service, the Navy, Military intellengece etc where all in the port, including representatives of NDLEA at the port and that they were all involved in the examination of the offensive container before it left the Tin-can Island port.

On the other hand, President of NCMDLCA, Mr Luck Amiwero, has argued that the NDLEA has gone against section 7 (i) b  of the establishing Act (Decree 48 of 1989) which mandates the agency to collaborate with Customs on issue concerning drugs.

The section of the law read in part, “working with the Department of Customs and Excise in monitoring the movement of goods and persons in any Customs area, customs stations, Customs ports or Customs airport and searching cargoes and incoming and outgoing vessels, including pleasure crafts and fishing vessels, as well as aircrafts and vehicles and when appropriate, searching crew members, passengers and their baggers.”

According to him, all other agency in the past have been collaborating with the Customs as it relates with their function and further stressed that the action of the NDLEA is a contradiction to the law which states that inspection and investigation of imports and export from the port should be done through as a one-stop-shop with the Customs playing the lead role.