661 pump actions guns not examined — Customs

THE Apapa Command of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has revealed that the 661 pump action guns recently intercepted along Mi!e 2 axis of the Apapa-Oshodi expressway in Lagos were not examined nor scanned. This is even as the Command stated that the container was not on the Customs fast track.

Speaking to Tribune Online in his office, the Apapa Command Spokesman, Emmanuel Ekpa stated that preliminary investigations have revealed that the container exited the port without being examined or scanned.

According to him, “the said container containing the pump action guns were not examined, neither were they scanned. I can say this because on the said day the container exited the port, it was not among the containers listed for examination.

“When containers are brought in, it will be brought for examination or scanning to determine what it contained, but nothing of such was done on this.”

When asked why it was released by the command when it was not scheduled for examination, he said, “only investigation can reveal why the container was released without scanning or examination.”

Meanwhile, clearing agents operating at the Apapa port have accused Customs officers of aiding and abetting in containers leaving the port without proper examination.

The Coordinator, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNFFIEC), Ositachukwu Patrick, said, “It has always been happening like that, you know that in every 12, there must be a Judas, they have their ways of accomplishing this act‎, I was the first person that alleged that containers were leaving the port without being examined.

“There are lapses in the customs service, sometimes, you go there and they would tell you that the server is not working, the government itself is shying away from its responsibilities

“The container did not go through proper procedures, there are officers who compromised. The real officers were not aware of the exit of that container.”