Maritimegistplus

* Seized landmark volume of Pangolin scales, Claws And Elephant Tusk Worth #22.2 billion* * Raked in #4.7 billion as revenue through interventions and issuance of Demand Notes* By Tunde Umar In its religious and rigorous quest to eradicate or meaningfully reduce smuggling and other vices to the barest minimum, the management of the Nigeria Customs Service inaugurated a combatant squad made up of Officers and Men with zest, determination and drive for excellence to compliment the efforts of existing anti - smuggling squads. The COMPTROLLER - GENERAL OF CUSTOMS STRIKE FORCE (CGC STRIKE FORCE) with a blend of tested, disciplined and combat ready personnel was grouped into four zones for efficiency and accountability, each zone is coordinated by a dutiful, purposeful and competent Officer. Zone A which takes charge of the south - western divide of the country has no doubt, been blessed with dynamic Coordinators but the management wanted more. In line with the Management's  determinatio...

      L-R: Vanguard Editor, Eze Ana b a; Director General,  NIMASA Dr. Bashir Jamoh; Vanguard Saturday Editor, Onochie Anibeze and Director, Cabotage Services Department, NIMASA, Rita Uruakpa  The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh has emerged winner of the Vanguard Public Sector Icon, Maritime, 2021. According to a press release by the Assistant Director, Public Relations of NIMASA, the Editor of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Eze Anaba announced this while presenting a conveyance letter to Dr Jamoh in the agency's headquarters in Lagos. Ababa also disclosed that other awardees are President of the African Development Bank,  ADB, Akinwunmi Adesina, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State amongst others.   NIMASA DG, Dr. Bashir Jamoh (middle) Vanguard Editor, Eze Ana b a (right) and Vanguard Saturday Editor, Onochie Anibeze during a visit  M...

  The Lagos State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of three suspects for alleged possession of a locally made pistol in the Lekki area of the state The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statement on Wednesday, said luck ran out on a group of suspected armed robbers terrorising the Ajah area of Lagos State on last week Thursday, around the under bridge in Ajah. He added, “The Anti-Crime patrol team attached to the Ajah Divisional Police Headquarters, Ajah, Lagos, while on routine patrol, intercepted a silver-coloured Honda Civic vehicle with number plate, GGE 288 GV, with three occupants, Emeka George, 30; Ahmed Balogun, 23; and Bolaji Elewuro, 29. “In an exhibition of conscientiousness, the operatives on reasonable suspicion conducted a courteous search on the occupants of the vehicle and in the process recovered one locally made pistol with three live cartridges. “The operatives immediately moved the suspects to the station and preliminary inves...

In fulfillment of human capacity programme for the employees, the SIFAX Group has trained not less than 101 members of staff across various subsidiaries of the company in the first quarter of 2022 The capacity building programme which focused on bespoke needs of the staffers, including leadership competence, operations management, terminal traffic management, health, safety and environment, security, digital marketing and corporate governance.   According to a statement by the Group Head, Corporate Communications of SIFAX, Muyiwa Akande,  said selected traffic managers from Ports and Cargo Handling Services PCHS were trained on terminal traffic management. The one-week training was aimed at providing attendees with practical skills that would enable them effectively and efficiently coordinate movement of people, vehicles and equipment within the terminal. Operations staffers from the same subsidiary were also trained on current terminal operational skills, as well as...

Director General, (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh (right) presenting a souvenir to representative of the Chairman, Governing Council, (NMU), Alhaji Bello Dukku Salihu;  The Dire c tor General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh has restated the Agency’s commitment to the development of the Nigerian Maritime University (NMU) in Okerenkoko, Delta State. According to a press release by the Asst. Director, Public Relations of NIMASA, Edward Osagie, the DG stated this when a delegation from the University paid a visit to NIMASA Headquarters in Lagos, he noted that despite handing over the university to the National University Commission,(NUC) the Agency is still committed to supporting the university by completing projects it initiated in the school.   While advising the Management of NMU to  seek national and  international accreditations  to  ensure  certificates from the school enjoy global recognition, Jamoh...

The  Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMOT) on Thursday charged the stakeholders in the maritime sector to resolve the lingering issues of corruption along the Lagos seaports corridors. The Permanent Secretary, ministry of Transport,  Dr. Magdalene Ajani stated this at a One day programme organised by the  Port Standing Task Team  ( PSTT)  of the  New Port Manual Process (NPPM) . The event which has the theme “Operation Free The Ports and Terminals had in attendance ; truck owners, Labour union workers , government agencies, freight forwarders. Dr. Ajani who noted that the  PSTT  has already been making progress with regards to free access around the port access roads, maintained that stakeholders and relevant government agencies within the port corridors have critical roles to play in the eradication of the numerous challenges faced by maritime operators in the country. In Her words: “It takes everyone to be onboard to achieve this and we need...

Stakeholders in the maritime trade supply chain in Nigeria have lamented the seeming uncontrolled influx of fake and substandard goods into the country, noting how dangerous this could be to the local industries, especially at a time the Federal Government is making frantic efforts towards diversifying the economy from over- dependence on oil revenue. The stakeholders also argued that the continued absence of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), from the seaports and other entry points has further enhanced the influx of these unwholesome products, a development that urgently requires that the organisation returns to the seaports to curb this menace. Speaking at a one-day stakeholders’ sensitisation forum organised by SON in Lagos on Thursday, with the theme: “Standards Save life, grow Economy”, the  National Vice President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Dr Kayode Farinto, while delivering a paper entitled: “Juxtaposing the absence of SON from...

 The   Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Monday formally announced that it has decided to implement the new version of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Common External Tariff (CET) which will last from now to 2026. The Service, in a statement by the National Public Relations Officer of the Service, DC Timi Bomodi, had been using the old version of 2017 to 2021. The implementation according to the statement which takes immediate effect, was in line with the requirements of the World Customs Organization (WCO) of five years review of the nomenclature. Bomodi said all contracting parties were expected to implement the new version, adding that Nigeria has adopted all tariff lines with adjustments in the extant CET. The statement reads, “On Friday the 1st of April 2022, the Nigeria Customs Service migrated from the old version of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (2017- 2021) to the new version (2022- 2026); This is in-line with WCO five years review of th...

The Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service Comptroller says a total of 206,000 pieces of machetes without end-user certificate loaded in eight containers which were declared as spear parts have been impounded. The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the command Compt. Olokunle Oloyode who is barely six weeks old in the command, disclosed this at his maiden press briefing with newsmen on Wednesday  The CAC also disclosed that a whooping sum of N135.4billion revenue was realized in the first quarter of 2022, which ended March 31, as against the sum of N112.7billion generated within the same period in 2021, representing an increase of N22.7billion or 20.18 percent growth rate. Within the review period, the command through her anti-smuggling activities also seized 145kg of Colorado (Cannabis Sativa) concealed in two units of ridgeline trucks and two pieces of Toyota Corolla cars and 640 bales of used clothes, 236, 500 pieces of used shoes, 62, 500 pairs of brand new lady’s shoe...

  The National Drug Law And Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted and seized 101 parcels of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The drugs, according to a statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the agency, Mr. Femi Babafemi were concealed in children’s duvets and were imported   by a 52-year-old Brazilian returnee, Akudirinwa Hilary Uchenna. Uchenna who hails from Oru East Local Government Area of Imo State was subsequently arrested at the D-Arrival Hall of the Lagos Airport on his arrival from Sao Paulo, Brazil via Doha aboard a Qatar Airline flight. The 101 parcels of cocaine weighed 13.2 kilograms and concealed in check-in bag. According to NDLEA, “During a preliminary interview, Uchenna, who claimed to be a carpenter, confessed that he was to be paid N5 million for trafficking the drug after successfully delivering the consignment in Lagos". Similarly, the statement also revealed that the agency through her operatives in Enugu seize...

As  the quest to find a replacement for President Mohammadu Buhari come 2023 heats up, the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi last weekend declared his intension to run for the post of President in next year’s general election. Amaechi, who has promised like every other presidential aspirants to fight the current insecurity and increasing unemployment in the country spoked  at the Adokie Amesiemieka Sports Stadium in Rivers. The minister said he was not in the race for personal ambition but to give a much needed service to the country, saying  if voted into power, he would make Nigeria a place where “every child can go to school, every young person can find work or support to start a business, every citizen can travel safely around the country and sleep at night knowing that law and order prevail”. In a speech titled, “Forward With Courage”, the Minister said, “I am contesting for the office because I believe that it is my moral duty to give what I can in the...

                    MD NPA Bello Koko A s part of the efforts to reposition the nation’s port system as the preferred cargo destination in Africa,  the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has made some changes at the top echelon of the organization's hierarchy. In the latest redeployment which take immediate effect,  Madubuike E. Ugo (Mrs.), General Manager Monitoring & Regulatory Services, is now General Manager Public Private Partnerships (PPP); Williams E. Idowu (Mrs.), General Manager Public Private Partnerships (PPP) takes over as General Manager Monitoring & Regulatory Services. Engr. Ajibola S. Olagoke, General Manager Administration is now General Manager Superannuation; Moltok Josephine Adar (Mrs.) General Manager Servicom, moves to Administration whilst Musa Shehu Yaro, General Manager Procurement, now heads the Servicom Unit. According to a statement by Ibrahim Nasiru, the General Manager,  Corporat...

The Federal Operation Unit (FOU), Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has confiscated 68,225 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as, petrol and 11 truckloads of foreign parboiled rice smuggled into the country from neighborhood countries. The Acting Customs Area Controller of the unit, Deputy Comptroller (DC) Hussein Ejibunu, who revealed this while speaking with Journalists, said 20 cartons, 164 bottles of unregistered drugs and 2,150 cartons of frozen poultry products,  526 bales of second-hand clothing; 447 parcels of Cannabis sativa also known as indian hemp.  were also intercepted in Lagos and Ogun,  Ejibunu, who declared onslaught against illegal bunkering activities within the zone, said smuggled items with a total duty paid value (DPV) of N767.6 million were seized by the unit in the month of March 2022. He said, “breakdown of the seizures include 6,747 bags of foreign parboiled rice at 50kg each equivalent to 11 trailer load; 68,225 lit...