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• Importers count losses as NPA says terminal operators responsible for cargo security
By Steve Agbota
Dockside thieves, commonly known as ‘wharf rats’, have aggressively resurfaced at Nigerian ports, particularly at the Roll-On-Roll-Off (RORO) terminals of the Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos.
These criminals, notorious for looting and vandalising imported vehicles within terminal premises, are robbing importers of sleep.
They target vehicle sensors, catalytic converters, stereos, batteries, side mirrors, inner mirrors, jacks, wheel spanners, spare tyres, brain boxes, front grills and other critical parts. These sensitive and expensive items are stripped from newly arrived cars before they are cleared from the ports.
Today, importers are raising the alarm, insisting that the menace has assumed a traumatising dimension that leaves them wrecked in debt.
On the other hand, clearing agents are blaming terminal operators for poor security, even though some looting occurs at bonded warehouses as well.
Stakeholders who spoke with Daily Sun noted that since the federal government introduced the port concession programme in 2006 to reform and sanitise port operations, private terminal operators have largely been responsible for maintaining security within their facilities.
The concession initiative, which transferred the management and control of cargo terminals to private operators, initially helped restore order to the nation’s ports. Concessionaires introduced tighter security measures, including strict access control systems that curtailed indiscriminate entry into terminal areas. As a result, port users and importers enjoyed greater confidence that their consignments would remain safe and intact throughout the clearance process.
However, nearly two decades later, stakeholders say the gains of the concession programme appear to be under threat as the notorious “wharf rats”, criminals known for looting and vandalising cargo, are gradually making a return to port terminals, raising fresh concerns about the safety of goods handled at the nation’s seaports.
Meanwhile, several Nigerians have taken to social media to share their experiences importing vehicles through Tin Can Island Port, with many alleging that their cars were tampered with or vandalised while in port custody. Others say they are already counting significant losses following the incidents.
A few days ago, a video circulating on X showed an importer confronting two soldiers at a port terminal after discovering that his vehicle had been vandalised and some parts stolen. The clip, posted by Somto Okonkwo (@General_Somto), captured the visibly upset importer questioning the soldiers about their presence at the facility while lamenting the damage done to his car.
In the video, the victim screamed: “I’m going to shout. This is my money. This is not the first time this has happened at this terminal. This is the fourth time I’m experiencing this. This will cost me over N6000,000. This is a loss to me. Are you the ones buying cars for me? Why won’t I shout? I’m going to shout,”
Another X user, Ken Musa (Ehi@KenEhi7), said: “It is criminals who fill this terminal. It is a 50/50 thing. I don’t understand why they can’t install cameras there? Grimaldi has cameras and if you are caught stealing, you are gone and Grimaldi will refund you if you file a claim. But this particular terminal, you are on your own,” he lamented.
Another x user, Kevlin (@tokello), an importer, said: “It has become a norm with this terminal. They also did the same thing with my 2014 Camry when it entered Nigeria through this same terminal. I spent up to N500,000 replacing what they stole from the car,” he lamented.
Speaking with Daily Sun, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wealthy Honey Investments Nigeria Limited, Farinto Kayode, said two critical issues are involved in the recurring problem of “wharf rats,” stressing that terminal operators remain the custodians of cargo within the ports and are therefore responsible for the safety of the goods under their watch.
“Who positions the goods for examination? It is the terminal operator. The terminal operator ensures that, during examination, they bring in stevedoring companies to enter these containers.
Some of these stevedoring companies employed miscreants and questionable characters into their midst.
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“This is where these things get missing. They miss at the point of examination, so the fault now falls on the terminal operators.
“And anybody sure of such an issue can claim a refund from the terminal operator by applying. But above all, the fault lies with the terminal operator. “So, the terminal operator should review and update their security system and examine the various stevedoring companies they use because you don’t expect an importer who has containerised his goods to bear the brunt.
“Why did he containerise it ab initio? He containerised it because of safety. So that there won’t be theft of his goods,” he explained.
He noted that after the importer containerised his goods, he still sees them stealing or pilfering his property at the port, insisting that the fault now lies with the terminal operator who should make sure they do due diligence.
Also speaking on the “wharf rats” menace, Prince Ajibola Adedoyin, the National President of the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON), described it as a sad, unprofessional and shameful development.
He noted that the responsibility of cargo safety naturally falls on the Nigerian Ports Authority and terminal operators.
He added that, as custodians, terminal operators are expected to safeguard all property held under their care. He noted that car dealers had raised concerns about this issue several years ago, during a period when incidents of theft and vandalism at the ports were particularly widespread..
“We said if it gets to a certain stage, we might be forced to take serious action against the Nigerian Ports Authority, including the clearing agents. “Don’t forget that since we cannot clear on our own, we have to go through licensed Customs agents. And by doing so, they have their own ways, which are very, very firm and active in trying to take steps against such acts.
“I think they are the ones that are supposed to fight on behalf of those dealers that are importing cars. It is so sad that after spending millions of naira in bringing a car down, only for one miscreant or foolish person somewhere to come and vandalise your cars. And don’t forget that all those things that they are vandalising, I am telling you, it is almost about 50% of the cost of the car.
“So now, how do you intend to make it from the business you have been doing? How do you break even?
“So this thing is absolutely wrong and I am telling you, as a body, we frown at it. I think it is getting to that time again that we need to raise it and take firm action concerning this issue,” he said.
Reacting to the development, General Manager Corporate and Strategic Communications Division of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr. Ikechukwu Onyemekara, said; “In the ports, we see agencies that have responsibility to do one or two things because that’s one of the things that can help us.
“You are fully aware that the concession has vested responsibilities in different players. Today, the NPA is responsible for oversight functions.
“Their responsibility is to look over what is happening. The ports, where these goods are, where the wharf rats you are talking about, is the responsibility of the terminal operators.
“So, go to the terminal operators and ask them what they are doing concerning that.
“What has NPA got to do with that? Every terminal, every concessionaire has the responsibility to provide security in their terminal. To ensure that goods and services, or goods of importers, are secure. We have separate functions.
“So, when an importer says wharf rats have returned, go to the terminal and ask them that this importer says his goods are here, they have been pilfered by wharf rats,”..
