Business

Maritime workers blame entrance of hard drugs on security lapses

Buns Mates, NDLEA boss and Adewale Adeyanju, MWUN boss

.Frowns at scapegoating dockworkers for breaches at ports

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The recent reoccurring cases of discovering illicit drugs importation into the country inside vessels worries Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), a situation it has blamed on removal of onboard security men from the port by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

MWUN however has commended the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for promptly arrest and seizure of cocaine and heroin found aboard a vessel in Apapa recently, expressed surprise that such as such is becoming the order of the day.

The President General of MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju in a chat with Nationupdate in his office on Monday in Lagos lamented that the development is quite new to the union even as it’s gradually becoming the order of the day where vessels coming into the ports are caught with cocaine and other narcotic substances.

maintained that MWUN would not in any way support any illegality

The union boss frowned at situation where dockworkers are mostly being singled out even when they are neither the shipping companies nor consignee.

NDLEA attributing all the problem on dockworkers he said the union will not swallow it.

He said, “If NDLEA know the meaning of dockworkers, they will not allege them wrongly. They are not consignee, neither are the the shipping companies or importers.

“Those who brought in the cargoes should be equally be investigated on how the drugs arrived into the country. Then the masterminds should also be investigated. They should not put all these allegations on dockworkers, who are not the receivers, consignee, shipping companies, agents of the vessels or importers.

The job of dockworkers is to load the cargoes into the vessels, but when the NDLEA is attributing all the problem on dockworkers in this regard, the union is saying no to it.

Adeyanju who said he commended the operatives of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for promptness at arresting cocaine and heroin found aboard a vessel in Apapa recently, added that MWUN would not in any way support any illegality.

He made bold to state that if the onboard security men were on ground, they would have identified and intercepted such licit drugs imported into the country.

The present crop of security operatives at the terminals he said were strange people who do not understand the terrain of the ports.

His words, “As a result of what is going on, If you look at all the faces now, we cannot confirm who are the onboard-gang way men. If we have onboard-gangway, most of these things would be identified by the security men onboard the vessels, but as a result of the Nigerian Ports Authority flushing out tally clerk and onboard security men, we have been telling the whole world that onboard-gangway men are the international body recognised all over the world in line with the International Labour Organization (ILO) on maritime.

“They should bring back the onboard security men who will identify visitors onboard the vessels. As it is now, we don’t know the people managing security onboard the vessels, they are illegal.

“The NIMASA, NPA and terminal operators should wake up and make sure that what belongs to the onboard-gang way men be given to bring them back.

“If all there are security men onboard the vessels, there would not be transportation of hard drugs and narcotics at the ports.”

Adeyanju called on officials of NDLEA to add human face in doing their jobs saying it is unheard of to keep suspects in custody for two or three months without trials.

“We commend the efforts of the NDLEA for promptness in their actions. For some time now the leadership of the NDLEA has taken responsibility, but you need to have human face in doing your jobs.

Detention of accused persons he believes is a violation of their human rights. He said “there is no how you will keep somebody in custody for two to three months and that is why we are worried because you can’t hold people who are not responsible for the offence, while you allow the culprit to move around freely.

“While we reacted against their detentions, we made it clear to the whole world that the union is not going to support the activities of some of our members getting themselves involved in illegalities. Whosoever that is caught is on his own.

“The NDLEA should realise that we are representing those who believe we need to protect their interest and welfare. While we are protecting their interest and welfare, they should equally look at where they are going to put the system, that is the union and that of the Government.

“We are not saying they shouldn’t do their jobs, we commend and support them, but there is need for us to partner with them because this country belongs to all of us and we can equally support the NDLEA to flush out those bad eggs that want to turn the Nigerian Ports to their base for importing and exporting hard drugs.

“The union is not in support, but the NDLEA should investigate this matter properly and charge whoever is involved according to the law of the land, not punishing the innocent dockworkers,” he maintained.