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‎By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎In a move aimed at creating a clear separation between port economic regulation, development and operations,  the  Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has directed the transfer of the inland dry port (IDP) functions of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
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‎The Minister has also directed the immediate constitution of a ministerial committee to oversee the transition of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council into the newly established Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assent to the NPERA Act, 2026.
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‎According to a statement issued in Abuja Thursday by Dr Bolaji Akinola, the Minister’s Special Adviser, the directives are part of measures to establish a clear institutional framework for the new port economic regulatory regime to eliminate overlapping responsibilities and ensure that agencies under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy operate within clearly defined mandates.
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‎The NPERA Act, signed by President Tinubu in August, formally establishes a substantive economic regulator for Nigeria’s port sector, bringing to an end a two-decade wait for a dedicated statutory port economic regulator.
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‎With the enactment of the law, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, which had operated as the country’s interim port economic regulator since 2014, transmutes into NPERA.
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‎Under the new framework, NPERA is expected to focus primarily on its core economic regulatory responsibilities, including the regulation of tariffs and charges, promotion of competition, licensing, service standards, commercial dispute resolution and protection of port users.
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‎Oyetola said the transition from NSC to NPERA provides an opportunity to establish a regulatory institution that is clearly separated from operational, developmental and promotional responsibilities.
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‎“We must get the transition right. The establishment of NPERA is a landmark reform, and the process of moving from the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to the Nigeria Ports Economic Regulatory Agency must be carefully managed. The ministerial committee will provide the necessary oversight to ensure that the transition is seamless and that every function is domiciled in the appropriate institution,” he said.
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‎The Minister stressed that the credibility and effectiveness of an economic regulator depend, in part, on its ability to function as an impartial referee without being encumbered by responsibilities that could create actual or perceived conflicts of interest.
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‎According to him, the Federal Government’s objective is to ensure that NPERA is allowed to concentrate fully on its statutory regulatory mandate, while functions that are operational, developmental or promotional in nature are transferred to agencies with the appropriate mandates and institutional capacity.
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‎“The emergence of NPERA marks a new chapter in the governance of Nigeria’s port sector. It is therefore important that the new economic regulator is freed from functions that are not compatible with economic regulation. A regulator cannot function as an operator and, at the same time, be expected to be perceived as an unbiased referee,” Oyetola said.
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‎He added that a clear separation of responsibilities would strengthen confidence in the regulatory framework, enhance transparency and create a more predictable operating environment for port users, investors, terminal operators, shipping companies and other stakeholders.
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‎The Minister assured stakeholders that the transfer should not be interpreted as a reduction in the Federal Government’s commitment to the development of inland dry ports across the country.  Rather, he said, the objective is to strengthen the IDP programme by placing its promotion within an institution better positioned to integrate the facilities into the nation’s wider port infrastructure and operational network.
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‎“We are committed to strengthening the development of the Inland Dry Ports by placing their promotion within the agency with the appropriate operational and infrastructure mandate. The ultimate objective is to create a more efficient and integrated port system that serves the entire country,” Oyetola added.
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‎By Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎Barely two weeks after the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service unveiled 399 pump-action riffles seized by the Tincan Island Port Command, the Service, Monday, showcased another set of 204 firearms concealed in a 20-footer container said to originate from Turkey.
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‎Announcing the latest seizure, Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs Timi Bomodi who stood in for the Comptroller-General, Dr Bashir Adewale Adeniyi said the latest seizure became  possible with a combination of credible intelligence, sustained surveillance and collaboration with other security agencies.
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‎He told the press that the container numbered TEMU 184536/9 which arrived at the Tincan Island Port on August 16, 2026, aboard the vessel MV Algeciras Express was flagged for examination and subjected to a 100% physical inspection on August 18.
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‎According to the DCG,  the firearm components were concealed among declared household and other goods, including furniture, refrigerators, solar panels and detergent.
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‎Arising from  the discovery, the NCS Armament Unit worked jointly with experts from the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), under the Office of the National Security Adviser, to assemble the knocked-down components.
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‎The assemblage resulted in the recovery of 204 MAS 49 Alter Magnum pump-action rifles, alongside several leftover firearm components.
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‎The recovered components included 54 barrels, 56 trigger groups, 56 springs, 56 pistol grips, 55 pistol grip screws, 58 locking lugs, 53 charging handles, 39 trigger pins, 38 forward grips, 67 forward-grip latches and two U-plates.
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‎Speaking at the event, DCG Bomodi who heads the Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection Unit at the Customs Headquarters, reiterated that the seizure demonstrated the effectiveness of intelligence-led enforcement and inter-agency collaboration.
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‎He added that the latest interception was another demonstration that the Customs Service is maintaining heightened surveillance against movement of illicit importation of firearms and other prohibited items through Nigeria’s ports and land borders.
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‎The CGC’s representative warned smugglers, arms traffickers and their collaborators that the Customs Service was becoming increasingly difficult to circumvent, stressing that risk management, intelligence, profiling, technology and collaboration among security agencies were being deployed to frustrate illegal importation.
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‎The Service , he explained, would not only focus on the physical seizure of prohibited items but would also pursue the criminal networks behind the consignments.
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‎“Our objective is to expose the entire chain involved in the illicit movement of firearms from the source and shipment to the intended destination and beneficiaries,” he said.
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‎He also urged members of the trading community, particularly clearing agents with information that could assist security agencies in identifying and apprehending persons involved in arms trafficking, to come forward and provide such information as a patriotic duty.
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‎In his intervention,the Zonal Director, South-West Zone, National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, CP Abiodun Alamutu (Rtd.), commended the Nigeria Customs Service for its vigilance and continued partnership with the Centre.
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‎Alamutu noted that the successive interception of illicit firearms highlighted two critical realities: the determination of criminal elements to circumvent Nigeria’s security architecture and the increasing capacity of security agencies, particularly Customs, to frustrate such attempts.
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‎He recalled that only a few weeks back, the Tincan Island Port Command had intercepted and handed over 399 pump-action rifles to the NCCSALW.
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‎According to him, the repeated seizures demonstrated the need for sustained collaboration, effective information sharing and a unified commitment among security agencies.
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‎He assured that the firearms being handed over would be properly registered, secured and managed in accordance with national procedures and international best practices.
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‎Alamutu further pledged the Centre’s continued collaboration with the Customs Service and other sister security agencies to identify and dismantle the criminal networks responsible for the illicit trafficking of arms into Nigeria.
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‎Earlier, the Customs Area Controller, TinCan Island Port Command, welcomed security agencies, senior officers and members of the media to the handover ceremony.
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‎The Controller said the repeated seizures demonstrated that the command remained vigilant and would not become a weak link in the enforcement of import prohibitions, particularly those involving items capable of threatening national security.
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‎He commended the Comptroller-General of Customs for his leadership and support, as well as the NCCSALW for cooperating to identify and assemble the intercepted firearm components.
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‎The Customs Area Controller stressed that the exercise was not merely about the seizure of firearms but about protecting lives, safeguarding national security and ensuring that Nigeria’s seaports remain channels for legitimate trade and economic development rather than conduits for instruments of violence.
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‎DCG Bomodi later handed over the seized firearms and other components to the  NCCSALW for further action as per the law.
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‎By  Izuchukwu Ozoemena
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‎Following the  adoption of three key resolutions aimed at addressing the controversial blockage of containers by the Maritime Police Command at Nigerian ports, the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has resolved to suspend her planned industrial action.
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‎The resolutions followed a crucial meeting convened by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Thursday, with representatives of the Maritime Police Command, Department of State Services (DSS), NAGAFF and other relevant stakeholders in attendance to discuss freight forwarders’ long-standing concerns on the matter.
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‎Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko, National Coordinator of the NAGAFF 100% Compliance Team, announced the strike suspension in Lagos Friday.
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‎First among the key resolutions is that there should be no blockage of containers by the Maritime Police. The second agreement is that whenever the Maritime Police has a reasonable intel concerning any container in the port, this should be channelled to the Nigeria Customs Service, the appropriate agency statutorily empowered to handle such matters.
‎Thirdly, in line with continuing efforts to improve trade facilitation and ease of doing business, government agencies maintaining physical presence in the ports must not exceed five.
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‎Alhaji Tanko explained that agencies such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) would, under the new arrangement, show presence in the ports only when invited by relevant agencies to execute specialized interventions in line with their statutory mandate. This is to reduce unnecessary bureaucratic procedures and facilitate easy movement of cargo through the ports.
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‎For customs-related issues, he informed, the meeting agreed that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) should take the lead, while suspected narcotics consignments should be referred to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
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‎NAGAFF’s intervention, Tanko clarified, was not aimed at undermining any government agency but to ensure that each agency operates within the sphere of its statutory responsibility while supporting the Federal Government’s ease-of-doing-business agenda.
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‎Tanko who condemned the blockage of containers by the Maritime Police even when such consignments are cleared and released by the Customs said freight forwarders had become increasingly concerned about the delays and additional costs caused by the practice, particularly where containers are blocked without verifiable intel linking them to wrongdoing.
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‎He recalled that NAGAFF had earlier engaged the AIG of the Maritime Police Command, AIG Okunade Ronke Nura on their concerns and the police boss promised to look into the matter.
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‎He strongly condemned sweeping blocking of all containers  because one or two consignments are suspected to be laden with undeclared or prohibited goods.
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‎“There is no way you can tell me all the ships and all the manifests are suspected to carry another thing. The whole container coming into the country cannot be under investigation,” he said.
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‎He expressed confidence that reducing the number of agencies physically present at the ports, while allowing specialised agencies to intervene when necessary, would help reduce delays and improve the operating environment for importers, exporters and freight forwarders.
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‎Tanko warned that from next week, NAGAFF would, through her compliance officers, begin monitoring compliance with the resolutions and any container blocked after the August 27 agreement would be treated as a fresh violation and reported to  relevant authorities.
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‎“If there is any blockage before that day, they will unblock it. But if there is a blockage after yesterday, it is another issue on its own,” he disclosed.
‎Tanko also acknowledged that even though freight forwarders had previously directed some complaints to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the latest engagement had provided greater clarity on the appropriate channel for handling police-related container blockage.
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‎NAGAFF, Tanko assured, would continue to engage relevant government agencies to ensure that diligent implementation of the  resolutions result to improved cargo clearance, reduce delays and avail a more efficient operating environment at Nigerian ports.
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