By Godwin Oritse
Members of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) have threatened to stage a protest over the alleged manipulation of ship manifests by some shipping companies, warning that they will expose those responsible if urgent action is not taken. The agents said the practice could disrupt port operations and further weaken the country’s fragile economy.
Former ANLCA Vice President, Kayode Farinto, accused the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and Hapag-Lloyd of engaging in practices that create serious challenges for importers and licensed customs agents while allegedly encouraging corruption in the cargo clearance process.
According to Farinto, the shipping companies submit electronic manifests indicating that all containers aboard a vessel will be discharged in Nigeria, whereas only a portion of the cargo is actually offloaded. The remaining containers, he alleged, are left at transshipment hubs such as Cotonou or Côte d’Ivoire for onward shipment.
He explained that when the outstanding containers eventually arrive in Nigeria on another vessel without the required amendments to the electronic manifest, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) treats them as overdue or abandoned cargo because the original manifest has already been processed.
