Chief Remi Ogungbemi, President of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), has called on the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi to permanently halt the auctioning of trucks belonging to his members.
These trucks, according to Ogungbemi, were impounded for transporting containers that contained offending goods, a situation which he insists unfairly penalizes truck owners who are simply carriers.
In his appeal, Ogungbemi highlighted the recent auctioning of trucks at the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal, despite the association’s efforts to process their release from the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) in Ikeja.
He described the situation as “awful and unsavoury,” and warned that if this continues, AMATO may have no choice but to pursue legal action against unscrupulous importers who fail to declare the contents of their containers honestly.
“We would have no other choice than to henceforth start taking up the matter with the unscrupulous elements among the importers who are not declaring honestly to Customs what they are having in the containers we are carrying,” Ogungbemi said.
He emphasized that truckers are mere carriers and should not be held responsible for the contents of the containers they transport.
While acknowledging that the law permits Customs to arrest means of conveyance, Ogungbemi suggested a more balanced approach.
“We are aware that the law permits Customs to arrest means of conveyance, and we cannot stop Customs from doing their job. But we would appreciate them most if they can start arresting the ships that brought the containers instead of our trucks,” he added.
