ILLEGAL CHECKPOINTS: Transporters Commend ANLCA ‘Escort Committee’ At Seme Border

By DAPO OLAWUNI

The Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has been commended for creating an escort committee for loaded trucks coming in or exiting the Seme-Krake land borders, in order to prevent extortion from unscrupulous security agencies.

At the last check, there are more than 50 checkpoints between Agbara and Seme Border in Lagos.

Speaking with DAILY TREND at the borders recently, Coordinator of West African Road Transport Union (WARTU) Comrade Umukoro Peter commended the Seme Border Chapter Chairman of ANLCA, Chief Onyekachi Ojinma for creating the escort committee.

While lamenting activities of illegal checkpoints along the Seme corridor, Comrade Umukoro said the government agencies inflict cuts and injuries on transporters who fail to give them bribe.

“The security agencies don’t invite us to their meetings again because we constantly kick against these multiple checkpoints where our drivers sustain injuries, some of them lost their eyes, sustained cuts as a result of multiple checkpoints.

“If you give a driver an empty truck going out of the country to load consignment, you start paying these illegal checkpoints, if you don’t have money to give them, they would give your driver an injury, we have complained severally but there is nothing we can do about it.

“The leadership of ANLCA have now come up with a means of escorting our trucks, both the loaded ones and the empty trucks, with this, they are now frustrating these multiple checkpoints, when they are coming with our goods, they don’t give a dime to anybody, it was an escort committee that was created and is really working, though it is not totally free” he said

Comrade Umukoro noted that the containerization of cargoes through the Seme border has caused most West African Transporters to lost their jobs, because cargoes coming to Benin Republic no longer come by road but by sea.

According to him “If the cargo is imported by road from Cote de voir or Ghana, we the transporters would benefit, but now, the containerization has taken the transporter out of the business.

“Our trucks go to these West Africa countries to load cargoes, but presently, the goods are only coming through the seaports, it is now only transporters from Benin Republic that benefits, we the transporters and clearing agents in Nigeria are working like elephant and eating like ants.

“You pay duty at republic of Benin and still come to Nigeria to pay full duty, with this, importers don’t come to Seme border again, they prefer going to Apapa port where the job would only delay, and they would pay only one duty.

“Containerization of cargoes is also making things very hard. Terminal charges and container deposits are paid at Cotonou and on getting here, you pay terminal charges, it is frustrating the business, and if these are not addressed, Seme Border would not function again, presently, nobody is happy.

“The customs should stop implementation of the containerization.
These clearance charges make commodities very high at the market because the importer would impose it on the prices” he said