Non-implementation of WCO conventions caused importation of weapons —NCMDLCA

The National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) has said that lack of implementation of World Customs Organisations (WCO) Safe Framework conventions by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) is the reason behind firearms importation into Nigerian seaports.

It would be recalled that the Customs recently intercepted a container load of 661 pump action guns along Mile 2 axis of the Apapa-Oshodi expressway in Lagos after the container had successfully exited the ports without examination.

Speaking to  Nigerian Tribune exclusively in Lagos, President of NCMDLCA, Lucky Amiwero explained that implementation of WCO Safe Framework statutes in Nigeria would have compelled Customs in China to stop the pump action laden container from heading towards Nigeria’s seaports in the first instance.

According to him, “The Chinese Customs would have stopped the container from exiting its port to Nigeria if there was any form of cooperation between the NCS and China. That is the problem with the NCS. We keep talking about reforms, but this has not been done. Reforms is not redeployment of officers or mass sack, reforms should be technical.

“70 per cent of Nigeria’s import comes from China. Does the NCS need to be told that there should be a mutual agreement between the NCS and Chinese Customs? This is part of WCO convention.

“There is a national convention at the WCO on cooperation over firearms importation. It is a Customs-to-Customs cooperation. But we don’t have that here. The convention covers smuggling of small arms, but we don’t have that.

“Customs should not just be for revenue. There should be an international linkage between our Customs and international Customs.The linkage should be domiciled at the Ministry level. It is called mutual agreement between Customs-to-Customs.

“Then again, our process of inspection is faulty. We are only the country in the world that brings in cargoes without knowing what is inside. As a member of the Presidential Committee on Customs reforms and the subcommittee chairman, I have written extensively on this. It is a very dangerous inspection procedure. I am not a Customs officer but an expert in trade procedures.

“All this are domiciled in the WCO Safe Framework statues. The Safe Framework ought to have addressed the issue of importation of firearms into Nigerian ports if the NCS has been

implementing WCO conventions.

“Nigeria is a contracting party to the WCO Safe Framework, but the NCS are not compliant to its statutes. If Nigeria Customs is compliant to the WCO Safe Framework, then containers will be examined at the ports of origin before they are shipped to our ports.

“The problem in this part of the world is lack of compliance to global conventions. Nigeria is a contracting party to the WCO Safe Framework, but we are not compliant.

“There ought to have been a mutual assistant through the ministries. There is no container that enters the US without being examined at the ports of origin.

“The WCO Safe Framework is talking about out-borne inspection and in-borne inspection on NII. What is NII? NII means Non-Inclusive Inspection; that is the use of scanners outside and inside Nigerian ports.

“The Safe Framework talks about mutual administrative assistance on customs matters among countries and Nigeria is a party to it, yet firearms come into our country all because we fail to implement this global statutes.”