By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

The Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) has expressed concerns that efforts being made to grow Nigeria’s export trade and encourage exportation through automation are being brazenly thwarted by unscrupulous exporters and transporters in the business trade, reports say.

According to Adeshina Ajibola, AMATO’s Head of Research and Development, the whole essence of encouraging export trade stands to be rubbished if the trucking system to access and exit the ports are not automated.

“Once there is any loophole for abuse, trust Nigerians, they will take advantage of it to the point that racketeering will now come in and this is why AMATO has been pushing for full automation of truck movements in and out of the ports.”

He regrets that when the export process is left open, there is a free-for-all and the tendency for abuse is enhanced. What is currently being experienced for import cargoes will also be seen in the export process.

There are indications that the nation’s export trade is currently being threatened

As some unidentified exporters and transporters have devised means to undermine the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the movement of export cargoes to the port from designated Export Processing Terminals in Lagos, established rules and regulations governing port entry are being circumvented without taking into account the consequences on due process and the economy.

This development, findings show, has led to congestion of Export Processing Terminals in the princit of the Lagos Ports as cargoes meant for movement into Apapa ports are currently stuck at these approved Terminals.

Reports suggest that unscrupulous exporters may be working to sabotage the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) initiated by the Nigerian Ports Authority through sidestepping the official protocols for port entry.
This development, Vanguard gathered, has disrupted the operation of the approved EPTs in Lagos as exporters that comply with the protocol for port entry have had their cargoes stuck as they are not regularly called into Apapa port due to the activities of exporters that operate outside established protocols.

The unauthorized movement of export cargoes outside established protocols typically takes place under the cover of night. Under special arrangements and compromise, several government officials at Eleganza Roundabout in Apapa allegedly oversee such unauthorized operations.

Vanguard’s investigation reveal that trucks carrying export goods now occupy the service lane at the Sunrise end of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Commercial Road, opposite Guaranty Trust Bank all the way to Mr. Biggs Junction, as well as Creek Road, turning it into a waiting area, truck park for night movement of cargo to the Lagos Port Complex.

Vanguard further gathered that movement of export cargoes into the ports was caused by an approved ETP that is far from the port corridors.
This particular ETP, it was gathered, admits in their facility and exit trucks into port in virtual circumvention of the call-up system instituted by the NPA, a development that is at variance with the Standard Operating Procedure through which trucks are admitted into the port.

Admitting trucks virtually is also against the established process through which NPA makes requests from EPTs for export truck and container manifests before such cargoes enter the ports in a regulated manner.

The seamless movement of export trucks into port, it is observed, has been managed for a long time until about a month ago when the ugly trend of bypassing the SOP started.
The Task Force constituted by the Nigerian Ports Authority to manage the movement of this category of cargoes has been overwhelmed by the situation.
The Task Force, it was gathered, has begun to turn these illegal trucks back to wherever they were coming from. But these trucks would always find their way to the established export lane on Wharf Port access road.
This is because the compromised government officials at Eleganza Roundabout keep allowing them to come back to export cargo lane and eventually gain access into Apapa port.

Reacting to the development, the Apapa Port Manager, Mr. Debo Lawal, denied the suggestion that many trucks that enter the port may have not been manifested. No truck gets access to the port without a manifest, he added.

However, this does not distract from the reality that many trucks access the Apapa port without manifest following the trending irregularities.

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By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has pledged to continue to pursue strategic automation initiatives in order to deepen and consolidate her role in trade facilitation, revenue generation and national development.

The National Public Relations Officer (NPRO), Assistant Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada stated this, Monday, while

announcing, on behalf of the Customs Comptroller-General,

Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, the

successful commencement of the pilot phase for processing Form M through the B’Odogwu (Unified Customs Management System) in all Commands of the Service.

“This initiative represents another bold step in the Service’s technology-driven reforms to modernise trade procedures and enhance operational efficiency”, the NPRO stated.

He explained that following the Service’s approval to integrate the Form M process into the B’Odogwu Trade Portal, preparatory activities commenced across three designated Customs Commands: Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML), Tin Can Island Port, and Apapa Area Command.

“These sites were selected to drive the pilot phase in a controlled and strategic environment, allowing for close monitoring, stakeholder engagement, and performance assessment.”

“During this period, a total of five hundred and forty-four (544) Form M entries were processed. Of these, 283 were successfully registered, 10 were validated, and 26 were stored for further action. Additionally, 41 entries were submitted, 120 were returned for corrections, 11 were queried, 14 had their PAARs locked, and 39 were recommended for approval.”

These figures, he said, reflect the robust testing and interactive learning across all participating commands.

Maiwada said a total of 37 Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports (PAARs) were generated from the processed Forms M out of which 7 were registered, 12 had their Single Goods Declarations (SGDs) processed, 2 were fully approved, 8 were recommended for further review. 4 were submitted for processing, and 4 were queried.

“This outcome confirms the operational capacity of the B’Odogwu system to support end-to-end trade documentation during live implementation”, the release said.

The successful implementation of the Form M pilot on the B’Odogwu platform signals the beginning of a nationwide transition that will streamline customs documentation, enhance transparency, and promote faster clearance timelines.

Consequently, to enhance trade facilitation and supply chain security in the ongoing pilot phase, NCS encourages all carriers (shipping lines and airlines) to commence transmission of manifests to the B’dogwu platform while ensuring that all key stakeholders, particularly the financial institutions and traders, are adequately engaged and prepared for full deployment.

By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

Between January 2024 and January 2025, 1,723 vessels conducted ‘dark activities’, including turning off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) while on Nigerian waters.

Dr Dayo Mobereola

The Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4i) centre of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA) says this alarming number of vessels probably decided to tamper with their AIS system to enable them carry out illicit activities within Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone ( EEZ).

The C4i centre, a critical component of the Deep Blue project domiciled within NIMASA operates with contributions from various security agencies including the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Police and the Department of State Services.

It monitors vessels entering Nigerian waters using an intelligence system designed to detect any suspicious activity.

The supervisor of the C4i operation centre, Abdulrasak Lawal disclosed these findings recently during an oversight visit by the House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration to the Nigerian Maritime Resource Development Centre (NMRDC) in Lagos.

He explained that the system tracks the history of vessels, including their voyages and flags to determine any questionable activities for further investigation. The questionable activities include different types of sharp practices and the deliberate switching off of the AIS, among others.

Lawal said some of the vessels uncovered are suspected to have been engaged in illegal fishing, illegal bunkering, oil theft and dumping of harmful waste in the nation’s waters.

“These vessels, when they sail into our waters, turn off their transmission, and once they do that, you’re not able to track them. Once you are unable to track vessels operating on your waters, there are so many reasons associated with it. We have so many vessels coming for illegal bunkering, illegal fishing, dumping of harmful waste- they are part of the 1723 vessels conducting dark activities.

He added, “Immediately a vessel goes dark, we dispatch one of our aerial assets above that particular vessel to ascertain it’s activities at that moment.  Because once a vessel goes dark, it is a crime on its own, and we even have the power to detain any vessel that is conducting dark activities.”

Lawal also highlighted the significant volume of maritime traffic within Nigeria’s waters, which he said accounts for 47 percent of vessel traffic in the Gulf of Guinea with 33,530 port calls recorded between January and April 2025.

This, he said, is against figures from countries within the Gulf of The Guinea (GoG) like Ghana with 4,969 port calls, Gabon- 2,753, Equatorial Guinea- 2,196, Benin- 996, Liberia- 711, and Gambia with 328 port calls within the review period.

The high volume of traffic, Lawal noted, increases the potential for illegal activities and attack on vessels adding that as a member of the GoG, Nigeria is accountable to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for ensuring security of vessels in its maritime domain.

Lawal disclosed further that a total of 4,016 different vessels entered Nigeria’s EEZ between January and April 2025,

with 166 of them entering for the first time.

Despite the challenges posed by these dark activities, Lawal said the C4i centre of the deep blue project has been instrumental not only in identifying suspicious vessels but also in maintaining a record of zero piracy incidents in Nigeria waters for over one year.