Maritime Agencies
Freight Forwarders Write IGP Over Extortion, Other Excesses, Threaten Ports Shutdown.
By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
Freight forwarders under the aegis of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) have cried out over excessive extortion of her members by the Nigeria Police.
The body has, therefore, threatened service withdrawal if the Marine Police continues blocking containers and collecting excessive charges for cargoes already cleared and certified for movement by the Customs.
Coordinator, NAGAFF 100% Compliance Team, Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko issued the threat in a 4-page petition dated August 22, 2023 forwarded to the Inspector- General of the Nigeria Police, Kayode Egbetokun, Wednesday.
The petition drew the attention of the IGP that freight forwarders plying their trade at the Lagos ports are currently in a restive mood over barefaced extortions, harassment and intimidation they continue to suffer in the hands of the maritime police.
The activities of police officers in this direction have considerably impeded facilitation of trade.
Tanko, an elected member of the governing board of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) said that in connivance with shipping companies, the Police indiscriminately stop and detain containers already exited from the ports for the sole purpose of extorting money from the owners.
The extortionist tendencies of the police, he recalled, were minimal under the administration of the immediate-past police IG following the outcry of the oppressed freight forwarders. But now, he lamented, the menace has resumed in a larger measure. The police now carry out their extortions in the open and with a lot of bravado.
“Since the advent of the new administration, the officers and men of the Maritime Police have not only resumed these activities but are more daring.
“They do not only block the release of containers from shipping companies; they also arrest and detain containers on the roads, and even go into fisticuffs with the officers of the Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service”.
NAGAFF, in her petition, wondered where the police officers perpetrating the menace were when the Customs, in collaboration with other sister agencies, arrested containers with drugs, arms and ammunition. They looked the other way while prohibited goods were being ferried into the country under their watch.
Tanko appealed for prompt intervention by the new IGP in order to calm the frayed nerves of the harassed freight forwarders and stave off impending showdown with the police officers involved in the extortion.
“We therefore, respectfully urge you Sir,” NAGAFF told the IGP, “to call the Maritime Police to order and save the ports from an imminent restiveness that may paralyze business activities and further cause economic loss to government revenue.
The aggrieved freight forwarders threatened that they may have no option than to go on protest which may result in a possible shutdown of the seaports if urgent steps are not taken by the Police hierarchy to address the matter.
By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has restated that she is not opposed to lawful police activities in the ports. However, such operations, the freight forwarding body demands, must be conducted strictly within the purview of exant laws without turning legitimate clearance of cargo into an avenue for unlawful financial gains.
This assertion is contained in a petition to the Inspector-General of the Police (IGP) by the Association’s 100% Compliance Team over alleged extortion, intimidation, harassment and obstruction of lawful trade by officers of the Marine Police Command operating at Nigerian ports.
In the petition dated August 14, 2026, NAGAFF was specific on Lagos Port Complex Apapa, Tin-Can Island Port, bonded terminals and other designated ports where police officers frequently compromise needed integrity with the intention of making personal gains at the expense of good conduct. The alleged conduct, the Association said, constitutes a growing threat to legitimate trade facilitation as it leads to rising prices of imported goods and the cost of doing business in Nigeria.
NAGAFF, the petition said, is ready to provide documented evidences and witness accounts to buttress allegations of the prevalence of a pattern of misconduct involving Marine Police personnel around the nation’s seaports.
Some police officers, the Association alleged, issue container blockage letters to shipping lines and terminals through the Nigerian Shippers’ Council demanding illegal payments before release orders are issued.
Officers demand money or special documents from freight forwarders, drivers and agents as a condition for cargo release and speedy movement of cargo.
Other allegations include verbal abuses, threats, unlawful arrest and detention, seizure of documents and, in some cases, physical assault.
NAGAFF warned that such anti-trade practices often cause avoidable delays, port congestion and supply-chain disruptions, thus undermining the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business policy.
The Association informed the IGP that such illegal payments and charges not approved by exant laws eventually increase logistics costs, with avoidable burdens being passed on to importers, exporters and consumers.
NAGAFF drew attention to the Nigeria Police Act 2020, Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, Nigerian Ports Authority Act, Customs Service Act 2023 and other statutory and legal documents that do not have any provisions for the irregularities in question.
In global trade, NAGAFF informed the IGP, the alleged activities, if unchecked, could damage Nigeria’s trade competitiveness, discourage investment in the maritime and logistics sectors while eroding public confidence in law enforcement agencies.
NAGAFF therefore urged the IGP to order an immediate investigation aimed at halting what it described as unlawful container blockage, extortion, intimidation and harassment at the affected ports.
To monitor compliance and address misconduct in the ports, NAGAFF recommended that a joint task force involving the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and NAGAFF should be established in the first instance while disciplinary action is visited against officers found culpable following investigation.
It further requested clear guidelines defining the lawful scope of Marine Police operations at seaports, as well as clearer jurisdictional boundaries between the Maritime Police and the Commissioner of Police (Ports).
“We are not opposed to legitimate Police operations at the ports. We only demand that such operations be conducted strictly within the purview of our extant laws, without turning legitimate cargo clearance into an avenue for unlawful financial gains,” NAGAFF stated.
The petition which was signed by Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko, National Coordinator, 100% Compliance Team on behalf of NAGAFF, was copied to relevant government departments and agencies.
These included the National Security Adviser, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and the Senate Committee on Customs. Others were the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigeria Customs Service and the Directorate of State Services (DSS).
Maritime Agencies
NAGAFF Deplores Foreign Domination of Freight Forwarding, Tasks Indigenous Operators to Form Combines.
By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
The National Assembly has been charged to enact a legal framework compelling consolidation by local freight forwarders to ensure they avoid fragmentations which unwittingly expose them to avoidable dominance by their foreign competitors. Pooling resources together as a formidable business entity, it is canvassed, stands to position them to better contribute to national trade and security.
National Secretary-General of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Godfrey Emeka Nwosu made the call in a policy briefing on the future of freight forwarding in Nigeria, as he describes consolidation as a “strategic imperative” for the industry.
Tochukwu Ezisi, NAGAFF National President
The growing fragmentation of local freight forwarding companies, he painted out, was weakening their capacity to compete with better-capitalized foreign firms. To overcome this development, local operators should urgently embrace consolidation to enable them build stronger and more competitive Nigerian-owned logistics business entities.
Indigenous freight forwarding companies, he canvassed, must come together and consolidate their operations as failure to so could leave them increasingly vulnerable to foreign dominance in Nigeria’s logistics and maritime sector.
It is no longer about the survival of individual freight forwarding entities but about Nigeria’s ability to retain value in-country and internationally to ensure foreign competitors do not render them irrelevant in international trade.
He warned that without stronger indigenous companies, local operators could continue to lose market share and strategic opportunities to foreign competitors.
Going further, the NAGAFF Scribe identified consolidation as a national security imperative as better-organized cargo movements would make it easier for regulatory and security agencies to monitor consignments and detect suspicious activities.
“Consolidated cargo is easier to monitor, reducing risks of smuggling and illicit trade,” he stated.
He called for investment in warehouses, transport corridors and digital cargo management systems, as well as capacity-building programmes for freight forwarders and customs brokers.
This would be complemented by stronger public-private partnerships among government agencies, freight forwarders, shippers and port operators to create an efficient logistics ecosystem.
Nwosu said the freight forwarding sector was a critical enabler of international trade and warned that the dominance of small, fragmented operators had created vulnerabilities that could be exploited by foreign competitors.
According to him, bringing smaller freight forwarding companies together would enable operators to pool resources, cargo volumes, infrastructure and expertise, thereby reducing costs and improving service delivery.
“Consolidating multiple smaller freight forwarding companies into larger, unified firms offers a strategic solution to enhance competitiveness, efficiency and resilience,” he said.
Nwosu explained that consolidation would allow operators to share cargo space and transportation resources, reducing per-unit logistics costs while limiting exposure to under-utilized capacity and empty runs.
He said stronger companies would also be better positioned to invest in warehouses, transportation networks, digital systems and skilled manpower, giving indigenous operators the capacity to compete for larger cargo volumes and contracts.
The NAGAFF official said the benefits would extend beyond freight forwarders to shippers, Customs, port operators and the wider economy.
He said shippers would have access to more affordable and reliable logistics services, while Customs authorities could benefit from more structured cargo movements that would simplify inspection, documentation and clearance.
For port operators, he said, more coordinated cargo evacuation would help improve cargo flow and reduce congestion.
Maritime Agencies
NIWA, Private Agency Target Pollution Elimination, Job Creation To Clean Lagos Waterways.
By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and PARTS Central Ltd are partnering to clean up the country’s inland waterways by identifying sources of indiscriminate accumulation of waste within the inland waterways and environs. The partnership also involves the removal, recycling and conversion of such waste into economic value.
This initiative expected to promote environmental sustainability and create employment opportunities for communities living along the waterways is in line with the comprehensive environmental reform programme introduced by Bola Oyebamiji, former Managing Director of NIWA.
In a joint statement, NIWA Lagos Area Manager, Engr. Sarat Braimah and Managing Director, PARTS Central Ltd, Henry Olaoluwa Onifade said the Lagos unveiling is aimed at briefing stakeholders in Lagos on the benefits of the initiative and to seek their support and buy-in to ensure it succeeds.
Apart from improving inland waterway navigability by eliminating debris, pollution-related accumulations and obstructions, the nationwide initiative is also expected to enhance the conservation of aquatic biodiversity, some of which remain largely undocumented. It will also contribute significantly to the growth of Nigeria’s fisheries economy.
Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has consistently emphasized the need to strategically harness the vast potentials of Nigeria’s inland waterways beyond transportation. He has positioned them as key drivers of economic diversification under the blue economy framework.
This arrangement underscores NIWA’s commitment to innovation and sustainable development.
NAGAFF Petitions IGP On Alleged Police Extortion, Harassment At Sea Ports.
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