By Steve Agbota
Following the arrest of one of its members over the alleged importation of psychotropic drugs by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over the weekend, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has directed that all members of the association should ensure that their importers sign the indemnity form before deciding to clear such consignment for the importer.
Addressing newsmen yesterday regarding the recent arrest, the acting President of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto, said that the association has over time urged its members to ensure that the indemnity form is signed before deciding to take up a consignment for clearance from any importer.
Farinto confirmed that the arrested agent is a member of ANLCA, saying the association will stand by its member, even as he stated the agent is not the importer but a clearing agent who was not aware of the psychotropic substances hidden in the consignment.
He said it was erroneously reported that the agent is the importer of the consignment, saying that the name on the bill of laden clearly shows that the accused agent is not the importer of the consignment.
He further informed that the association will be engaging the Canadian ambassador as regards the importation of illicit drugs, which he said are mostly from Canada.
He explained that the association has already written to the Canadian embassy for a meeting with the economy attaché as regards the importation of psychotropic drugs.
“We called this press briefing to first of all correct the erroneous impression going round that ANLCA chieftain is involved in the clearance of illicit drugs and psychotropic substance and also reiterate all our efforts in the last few months to enlighten our members on the role to play particularly in the cost of cargo clearance.
“We are collaborating with NDLEA it’s our responsibility. Otunba Sunday Oyebola is a high member of ANLCA one of the chapter’s executives at PTML and he is been involved in the clearing of a cargo container said to contain three vehicles unfortunately at the point of examination loud and some psychotropic substances were found in that container.
“Let me say this Otunba Sunday Oyebola is just a clearing agent, he is not the importer of the consignment and the consignment was not consigned in his name.
This issue is now being politicised it is a national issue and we should have a concern as regards the safety of our environment,” he explained.
Also speaking, the National Secretary of the association Alhaji Babatunde Mukaila posited that the man in question is not a drug dealer as being reported but a mere freight forwarder who has a job hazard.
He said it is very important that clearing agents do a KYC (Know Your Customer) of the importer which he said will help protect agents when the need arises.
He reiterated that Sunday Oyebola is not the importer of the consignee but the clearing agent involved in the clearance of the goods, which were found to have contained psychotropic substances.