By Steve Agbota                                    [email protected] 08033302331

 

Roads leading to Apapa Port City, Nigeria’s premier port complex and international gateway to the nation’s economy have totally been taking over by touts popularly known as ‘Area Boys’.

The presence of these miscreants along the port access roads especially the Tin-Can Island Port road have caused more harms to importers of tokunbo cars and port users in recent times.

At this age and time, it’s sad that the nation’s economy gateway is being left in the hands of miscreants who are constituting nuisance by vandalising imported vehicles and victimising owners, thus  making life difficult for people, importers, car dealers and clearing agents operating at the port corridors.

Many say that was only the  result of negligence by the government; today, crimes of various shades and shapes, including illegal checkpoints, drugs, sexual merchandise and robbery among other illegalities have become the order of the day along the port corridors.

Corruption and extortion have also become the two most intractable challenges facing maritime stakeholders especially importers, truck owners and drivers along the nation’s port access corridors.

Daily Sun learnt that the hoodlums have now erected three bedroom shanties, with their wives and children, all living on the port access roads.

The situation stakeholders described as national embarrassment, that can never happen in any of the neighborouring ports.

It was also reported recently that a recent task force set up by government  discovered ammunition in front of the port, making it is more dangerous more than ever taming the menace.

The current trend along the port access road is all manners of extortion by security agents and Area Boys mostly between Tin-Can port and Mile 2 down to Amuwo-Odofin axis.

The security agents often send touts to go after already cleared vehicles from the ports as they are driving to their destinations to extort them.

The irony of it, is that these miscreants have different sections. There are sections for the group that extort truckers, petroleum tanker drivers, importers of tokunbo vehicles and those who petty-petty traders like those selling snacks and pure waters among others.

Importers who specialise in bringing in vehicles into the country who spoke with Daily Sun, recently recounted their ordeals  in the hands of the hoodlums. They said that whenever they cleared their vehicles at the port, miscreants with pipes, big sticks and other dangerous weapons would stop them to  demand for money and the moment you refuse to give money, they will start harassing you, hitting the vehicle with pipes and sticks.

The car importers said on several occasions, when fight ensued, the miscreants will come in numbers to vandalise the vehicle and sometimes beat the owners up and inflict injuries on them during the physical assaults by the touts. 

During a visit to Tin-Can port access road last week, between Berger car yard, Otto-Wharf and Mile 2 bridge, large numbers of these ‘Area Boys’ were seen at various points with pipes, sticks and other weapons stopping tokunbo vehicles and collecting between N2000 to N5000.

While our reporter was observing the scenarios at Mile 2, there were sights of broken patches of vehicle bonnets, windscreens, and side mirrors allegedly vandalised by these miscreants who demand money from the owners or the driver with great force and coercion.

One of the vehicle drivers, Kelechi Ezeanyangwu, who spoke with our reporter at Mile 2 bridge said the activities of the hoodlums had become a bone in the neck of car dealers and importers for some years now.

“You see this Toyota car, was properly cleared at Tin-Can Island Port without my boss owing government a dime . We paid for Customs and all papers are intact. When I was leaving home this morning, my boss gave me N150000 to settle this good for nothing Lagos Agbero.

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“I have to settle some security agents before leaving the port gate. I gave them some money. Now between Tin-Can to this Mile 2 bridge, I have settled more 15 groups of these God forsaken people. If you don’t settle them, they will damage your car, vandalise it and the money you will use to fix those things they spoil or remove from the car will become another problem for you. When you talk, they will say they are the owner of Lagos that if you can’t abide by their law, we should leave their state,” he said.

He said Federal and State Governments must do something about these miscreants because their activities on this port road is making life difficult for business owners especially the importer of tokunbo vehicles.

Also speaking, Dauda Adeniran, a car dealer at Berger cement, said importers and truckers  are under siege from State backed touts who wield pipes and other dangerous object at various checkpoints, saying it seems the touts have the backing of state government as they claimed government is aware of their activities and the state belongs to them.

“From the look of the body language of the government is only a confirmation of the claim of the touts that they have backing of the Government and are card carrying members of the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the state belongs to them.

“We pay all manner of monies to touts backed by the state and security agents. They collect money from vehicles going out of this place. Not only car dealers alone but members of truckers at will and injure or even kill truckers who are not cooperating. We learnt that even traditional rulers in Lagos are now getting involved in the extortion business because it is thriving.

“Last year, a customer came to my car mart to buy a vehicle, a small Toyota Corolla for his wife. When the man was leaving and getting to Otto-Wharf, the Agbero stopped him and ask for money but the poor man refused that he didn’t have what they were demanding. Before you know it, they damaged the two side mirrors. At the point of exchange words with them, they stole his phones and they ran away. My brother this is the kind of situation we found ourselves here.

“Now, customers are afraid of coming here to buy cars. Look at at everywhere, no activities is going on, no customers. Apart from traffic that has affected our business here over the years, the miscreants are now compounding our problems by chasing our customers away from here.

It is only who have army that come with them that can move a car out of the corridor freely  without paying a dime to these touts. If not so, you will pay through your nose or else they will vandalise the car, which will even cost you more  money to fix,” he explained.

According to him, to say the least, it is sad to note that this brazen illegality continues in broad day light without any modicum of check.

Speaking with Daily Sun, the National Coordinator, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Osita Chukwu, said the truth is that Nigeria does not have a well established government, saying if a country is running a government, it should know the people to put in place to manage the affairs of its administration.

“If you go to other countries, you will see how things are being done. But what you are seeing here is just anybody who can kill each other and collect what you have and that is the kind of government we have here.

“I don’t see the reason why you clear a vehicle paying all the charges and duty, some miscreants will still come out to the road and disturb you. This is not right and it affecting economy benefit. All those ones that sent out the Agbero people are they not part of the government? Those behind it, are they not government? Those military personnel, they have shares in the collections. So that is why they are not kicking against it.

“For me and my members, we kick against it and condemn it that such should not be allowed on the port access road and in our country here because it is a calculative attempt to commit crime of highest magnitude. After paying your duty, you should be allow to move your vehicle without any hindrance on the road,” he said.

He said those miscreants collecting the money do not issue receipt or anything, saying that they should allow the road to be free in order to solve the menace and argument and the issue of using wood to destroy vehicles should come to an end if the government wants to encourage export and import in the country.   

Speaking with journalists recently on the activities of the miscreants around port corridors, President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, noted that the hoodlums have now erected three bedroom shanties, with wives and children, all living on the port access roads.

“Hoodlums have taken over the roads to the port and even erected two bedroom flats, with children and their wives on the road to the port and even in front of the Tin Can Island Port, it is an eyes saw.

“This is what we have been telling the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for them to wake up and carryout total cleansing and removal of shanties and people who have nothing to do at the port.

“When you visit other neighboring ports like Cotonou, you will see how beautiful their port is, you cannot see people selling alcohol and all that, at our own port, some of the hoodlums are even collecting rentage on behalf of the NPA,” he said.