Operators Decry Extortion By Govt Agents

Maritime operators have complained that officials of government agencies in the Nigerian maritime industry are in the habit of extorting them even when they carry out their legitimate businesses.

There is no government agency operating in our maritime industry that operators have not complained of extortion but most of these complaints are heaped on the security agencies at the port which include the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Plant and Animal Quarantine and State Security Service (SSS) among others.

Apart from the security agencies, other government officials like security officials of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) are not also spared.

Also, security agencies that operate in our waterways such as the Marine Police and the Nigerian Navy, are not spared the extortion accusation, with the recent one being the alarm raised by the Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Licensed Customs Ship Chandlers Association (NLCSCA), Dr. Martins Enebeli, that ship chandlers part with as much as N40,000 per boat to security agents when going for supply, despite clearance from the Nigeria Customs Service.

This is not the first time we will be having cases like this, even licensed customs agents have often decried the level of extortion by customs officials in the course of clearing their cargoes.

We must state the obvious that extortion is not in anyway peculiar to our maritime industry but we must note that not only is it harmful to the economy of our nation but also destroys the image of the country in the eye of the international community, since maritime business is an international business.

We cannot deny the fact that operators are being extorted daily by security agencies in the maritime industry but we must all understand that both the giver and taker of bribe are guilty under the law.

There is no reason, whatsoever, why security officials should demand any form of gratification from operators, but operators must also look inward if they are truly doing the right thing.

For instance, when customs agents talk of extortion, the management of the NCS is quick to deny such accusation with the reason that agents and importers do not have genuine intentions.

All operators must learn to do the right thing and if they are being extorted they should join forces and fight whichever agency is in the habit but remember you cannot fight when you want to short-change the government.