ANLCA Spoils for War with Shippers Council, Maritime Police, Threatens to Shutdown Ports Over Planned Shipping Tariff Increment

By DAPO OLAWUNI

The Western Zone of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) is currently at daggers drawn with the Nigerian Shippers Council and the Maritime Police Command over the incessant blocking of already blocked containers at Lagos Ports.

The Association has also kicked against the approval granted by the Shippers Council for Shipping companies to increase their charges by January 2026, threatening to shutdown the port system over any attempts to effect such charges.

Zonal Coordinator West of ANLCA, Alhaji Femi Anifowose in a chat with DAILY TREND on Wednesday punctured claims by the Public Relations Officer of the Maritime Police Command, ASP Adebayo Rasheed at a stakeholders meeting organised by the Shippers Council last week, where he claimed that the command intercepted already cleared containers laden with arms and tramadol.

Anifowose described the claim as an attempt to save face in the alleged extortion of clearing agents whose containers are blocked randomly and asked to pay huge monies before it is released.

Speaking on the container blocking conundrums, ASP Adebayo Rasheed had at the meeting last week said that the Police cannot stop blocking containers, especially those with intelligence report, considering the insecurity in the country.
While justifying the activities of men of the Command, he said containers loaded with arms and tramadol where recently discovered.

Speaking on this, the ANLCA Western Zone Coordinator said “What is the container number, where is it coming from, who released it? Which port did the containers emanate from? These are the questions we are asking them now, who did they handover arms and drugs to?
They are trying to save their face and the Shippers Council is allowing them.

“As an association, we have taken so many steps to meet with the Maritime Police, we have visited their office and held meetings with three AIG’s, but the moment we leave, they would continue doing all these things, and they keep giving us flimsy reasons.

“The Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy should step into this matter because the Shippers Council are not doing what they are supposed to do.
The Minister should query the Shippers Council Executive Secretary for allowing Police to route manifest through the Council and blocking containers”

He said that the Maritime Police has no business intercepting already cleared cargoes, adding that there are Police representatives at every port and Bonded terminals and they participate in cargo examination and signing of joint examination forms.

“It is because of the money they are collecting, thats why they are blocking these containers, the money is just too much, and it is causing us demurrages, they cause us a lot of losses. There are some retired officers who are giving them information. They have informants at the shipping companies who are part of the ongoing racket, they are the ones giving out these manifests

“After the shipping companies blocks your container, they would direct you to go and meet Maritime Police, after paying money for no reason at all, they would release the container. When they want to notify you with a letter, you get it through the Shippers Council. It takes 48 hours to get letters dispatched, who is fooling who? Is this the way we would achieve National Single Window we are expecting?
The ANLCA Western Zone Coordinator also condemned the planned increment in tariff by Shipping companies, even as he claimed that the charges were last increased by 400percent.

“Nigerians are suffering and Shippers Council are adding to it, it is the masses that would face these charges at the end of the day.
ANLCA was not carried along in anyway in connection with the proposed hike in shipping tariff.

“We are calling on the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy to call a stakeholders meeting between the Shippers Council, the Association, and the Shipping companies, let’s have a dialogue. The Minister has his ears to the ground, he knows what is happening, must we write a petition before he understands what is happening?” Anifowose fumed.

Continuing, he threatened that the association would shutdown the system if there are any attempt to increase shipping tariff in January 2026.