Have you dealt with NDLEA officers at Murtala mohammed International Airport ?

Are they that hardworking ? Are they hostile ? Are they effective?

My first ever experience was last April in Lagos. They stopped me with a bit of courtesy. They were well organised. Good federal Structure. Hausa, Yoruba and Ibo.
They ask me about 10 questions then asked whether they can check me for Drugs.
In my mind, i say "wetin i go say now".
I told him WHY NOT? My passport was SEIZED.
I went down to their inner office from where i received a BIG BIG SHOCK. About Eight people had been arrested, chained even one of them is carrying about 2 years old boy.

I was Xtrayed, but they found nothing, i carry nothing (Halleluyah !)

I cant believe people still carry drugs in Nigeria. This offficers are doing marvellous job.
Whar do you think?

THE NDLEA PEOPLE WANTED TO PLANT SOMETHING IN MY LUGGAGE ON BEHALF OF THE CUSTOM OFFICER THAT I ABUSED.   


I had no choice but to abuse customs officers at lagos airport when they told me I had to have a certificate to carry only 5 tuber of yam. I went mad when one of them butted his nose in and said that the notice about the certificate was on the wall, because I know the certificate is only required for wholesalers. I called them thieves saying that even if i am carrying meat etc containing disease to UK, it was none of their business. Afterall they don't bother what disease you bring into Lagos, once you give them bribe.       

I was told to go to the sixth floor to procure the certificate, but went to complain to the Manager who told me I should give them money as that is what they wanted. I told my brother that he could return my luggage to the car since it was already tagged, that I could claim my luggage as missing when I got to London. My dad who had spent over one hour begging one of the customs officer, refused my suggestion. He told me I should go and apologise to the woman, that they had accepted that I should carry the yam.

I went to the woman and told her that "they said I should say sorry", she ignored me. There was now over 50 NDLEA staffs around her. I wheeled the suitcase back to the airline and told them to remove their stupid tags that if not for my dad, I would have declared the suitcase missing in London,  The custom oficer that had her back turned to my dad for the whole time he was talking to her, and whom I was told to apologise to, ran so fast to where I was to tell me that sebi we have said you could carry it,  I told her that I did not want to, and gave the suitcase to my dad to take home for me.

I kept my eyes focused on my bag whilst I went through further security checks and saw at least 8 NDLEA people again. I decided not to check in anything because I did not want them to slip something in my luggage.

Naturally, when I got to London, 13 officials pulled me aside, I heard one of them mentioning two vials. I automatically knew they wanted to search me for cocaine. I only had my small hand luggage with me and they searched this for over one hour, questioning me in the process. I was tired so was replying them in a tired, quiet Nigerian accent.

When they saw the luggage tag for the bag I left behind in Lagos, one of them asked what it was and something inside me snapped and I replied in a loud British voice thus "What the f*ck did you mean what is this? You work for a f*cking airline, what is with the stupid questions? Once I spoke, ten of them moved away uncomfortably, because they realised from my accent that I was not an illegal immigrant.

The one asking the question started apologising, asking if I knew what they were looking for, I said no and he told me that they had received a tip off from Lagos officials that I was carrying cocaine.

na wahhh, did u travel with 9erian passport?

most of these people are corrupt ! they are somethings else ! they only pretend to be hardworking . they are full of bad things. they always put one of my friend in trouble, if not for God, the would have made him suffer for nothing.

Even if you are trafficking drugs and you know the right people to contact among these people, you'll definately have a smooth ride with the drugs you are carrying.
people just have to be careful whenever .you know,nigeria factor will always come in.

Those people seem to be doing a good job, but most of them can be corrupt try to set you up and stuff like that. The main this is just to be careful when you meet those guys.

It will be difficult to say they are corrupt. Imagine different tribes in the same place on the same shift!

If we're talking about the people that search people's bags by hand (where the ticket counters are) they were when I was last there they cleared every white person in the queue without even opening our bags,
Not the most secure setup I don't think,

They are not corrupt! when i was coming to Canada, from my vacation in Nigeria they did not treat me bad, just the standard

Luckily for me the customs guy was from my neighbouring villege (chang, song a sap), as he was Berom and from Vom
He said to me "us Middle Belters never cause wahalla", he did not even check my luggage :

When i went upsatairs to board the plain NDLEA came and give me the thorough search inside of a locked room
i had to remove my shoes, but no shaking, i knew i had nthing

i boarded my plain for LONDON. WOw when i got to london thats when their people come search me well well
i was carrying maggi cubes and wood work for my carry on. They came and opened a single cube (they thought maybe it was cocaine). I asked them to crack my wooden work that their is illicit drugs inside. i was joking. They werent. They told me they had the power to do that. I reminded them that i was a Canadian when they asked me for a VISA, Bastards!!1

My expereince @ Murtala aiport in abuja was much better then that in LONDON Shitthrow (my bad)
Not everything is rotten in Nigeria, besides common believe. Just show respect, but more over respect urself @ the Airport and nuttin go Happun

I found the staff at heathrow to be most curtious (I arrived going Lagos->Heathrow on BA)
Biggest complaint I had about heathrow is it is DAMN cold as in when I breathed out I could see a little mini cloud coming out of my mouth (like on a really cold day) and that was inside!

NDLEA i guess know what their doing,anyhow ave never been stopped in Naija airports B4 so i dont knw what gud they up 2.

Hunter:

If we're talking about the people that search people's bags by hand (where the ticket counters are) they were when I was last there they cleared every white person in the queue without even opening our bags,
Not the most secure setup I don't think,

No, NDLEA are different from those people, those once are Customs. They were looking for bushmeat etc

NDLEA deals with Drugs.

@ Akolawole
Sorta like the drugs law that stops you on the road and are dressed like green men?

@JosBoy4lif
I dont understand you

You have never encountered Drugs Law, when you move about in vehicle?
They are dressed like green boys, but there main objective is to look for drugs.
They set up road blocks similar to police @ buisy stopovers between major destinations.

u abuse custom officers and NDLEA officers - can u do that outside Nigeria? Shame!

alabiyemmy:

u abuse custom officers and NDLEA officers - can u do that outside Nigeria? Shame!

Why not people outside Nigeria? Who born them? They carry fire for head? Don't care who you are, anyone who oversteps their boundary gets what they deserve.

big_bumper:

Why not people outside Nigeria? Who born them? They carry fire for head? Don't care who you are, anyone who oversteps their boundary gets what they deserve.

@Big_bumper

I hear you. Go abuse NDLEA officer for yankee or for UK.

@alabiyemmy

I reiterate, step outta line, you get it, geddit?

Like I mentioned in the earlier post (see first post on this topic), when I arrived at City airport IN LONDON, thirteen drugs enforcement officers descended on me and when I told them to f*ck off, they apologised saying they were only acting on a tip-off they had received that I was carrying drugs, and two stayed behind to re-pack my bag. 

And when I travelled to the states, I left the customs officer that accosted me in tears (and I received a rapturous and standing ovation for it) because I was not aware of the fact that they also had the power and right to refuse entry.

I waited three hours and could not find my luggage and this pr*ck started asking me what I had come to do, who I was, where I would be staying, etc The crunch came when she started riffling through my diary, I asked her what the f*ck she thought she was doing going through my diary and the diary nearly flew outta her hands. In revenge she took my passport went to check whether it was genuine, when she handed it back to me around twenty minutes later and said "it's real you may go" i cursed her further and that was when people started to clap for me.

I am glad to report though that all this happened in my early twenty's, I have mellowed down a great deal, but still have a few sparks every now and then.

@big_bumper

Happy to hear you have mellow down.

You've not been thoroughly dealt with.

If they(custom officer etc) drilled you once, you will never, i repeat never behave like that again.

In 2001, i travelled to Germany with few British_Nigerians. I was the only one among them that is carrying Obasanjo's passport.

They were all full of themselves because they are using European passport. i was the only one that pass easily. They were thorougly drilled.

Dont just try that in Germany. i beg.

Been there, got the T-shirt and the medal.

Have travelled to and from Nigeria via Frankfurt a few times now and always get upset the way Nigerians are treated. I know those officials can be mean, infact they are there as soon as we step off the plane.

Fought an official as usual and refused to give him my passport or step into some area others were being told to wait because other nationals (whites) were not being stopped. Manager intervened and apologised that they sometimes had to bunch the innocent alongside with the guilty sometimes.

In the end he explained that they have a lot of trouble with Nigerians and fake Pali, hence the reason immigration officials are stationed at the entrance. He also told me that with the Jamaicans, the problem is drugs so they usually welcome them with sniffer dogs.

Like I said though, I think I have changed. Miss those times though. I guess it is what motherhood does to you.

@BB

Thank god you've changed.

@topic, I have an NDLEA clearance and other supporting documents,once I show them,they let me go without any stress. Except that once in a while,they question the authenticity of the clearance and they insist on seing my ID card!

@BB, let's say you've not been unfortunate to meet the really bad eggs,you never jam or you've never really been in a hurry. These people can be so mean you'll hate yourself and there's nothing you'll do about it.
      I myself have had cause to dish out one or two insults to custom officers but I 'm always careful not to overstep my boundary. Most times I travel via Bangkok and they are always very polite except that they practically beg for alms. However, the last time I went home, things were a bit different as they searched and searched and searched people's bags (especially bags with bangkok tags) . . . what they were looking for I don't know!
      When it was my turn,I told the officer in charge that if they search my suitcases and they find nothing,they will have to find a way to squeeze my things back as it wasn't easy getting all my stuff into the suitcases in the first place.The guy laughed and asked me what I brought for the boys and that anything would do,no matter how small.Well,I refused to give them anything but I did this with a big smile and they asked me to go. I could have been nasty,but it will only waste my time. A friend of mine was delayed for 9hours all because he was 'rude'. It's bera to be very careful when dealing with these thieves. . . besides,they are only 'doing their jobs' 

I also have the same problem with NDLEA last week on my way out of Lagos. After i had finished with the customs, two people called me and was asking me so many questions, they were not even talking about drug but concerning my passport and i told them that that is not their job and i let him know that i wont give them my passport to check because they are not immigration, after some few minutes and he saw that i was not bulging he let me go.

Some of them almost beg u for the remaining naira in nr wallet. i mean the customs/NDLEA guys after your passport has been stamped by the immigration. the go ahed doing their regular searching and when they are wanding you, especially the women, they ask u weather u are going to need that money abroad.
One of them women even told me it was her birthday that nigth. i couldnt hold my laugther. see scopes, my trousers almost fell of in the process because i  i was wearing a baggy jean and i had removed my belt for the scan. On another occasion, the lady was like, she could have asked me to take her to dinner later that nigth but since i was travelling, i could give her the money i would have spent on her. They are quite funny, i cant help giving what i have.

From experience i think first time travellers are prone to such harassment by uniformed men at MM1. Waz with a friend of mine at the airport some few days ago and he was a first time traveller on his way to the UK and while trying to boared one hungry looking virgin Nigeria official asked him what are you going to do in the UK? And i trust my Guy he Snapped ARE YOU STUPID AM GOING TO BOMB LONDON AFTER AM DONE WITH THE BRITISH EMBASSY YOU WAN INTERVIEW ME ABEG GIVE ME MY MONEY MAKE I GO ENTRE ANOTHER AIRLINE. Was so funny. In essence i think regulars are not really prone to harassments and again your confidence plays a very important role. Was at TANMBO airport at JBorg and the immigration guy was like whats in Ur bag i no even answer am i threw the bag at him he said i should come pick it up and leave. And at London Heathrow i wasn't searched infact the Immigration Officer had t leave his seat to show me where Terminal 2 was. So if you make them understand you being in there country is a favour to them then i think your 50percent covered.

I stand to be corrected.
ciao.

On my way to Seychelles to resume work , i met this annoying custom and NDLEA at MM1 , the custom stamped my passport and she asked for my work permit , which i showed her , then she asked me for my hIV result , can u imagine .

I nearly slapped her , what is her business if i have HIV or not , i told her she should go ask her husband at home . she got mad and it caused a big scence , after i left her counter , i met with the NDLEA , and they took me to a room for search , asked me to take all my clothes off , which i did and they searche every part of my body , even my asshole , they found nothing . and the stupid guy still have the gut to ask me for money , after wasting my time . i just simply told him " i am not the one that employed U , if you are hungry , go to the person that employed U .


These guys at the airport need to be trained to act professionally .

darkroll:


(1) and they took me to a room for search , asked me to take all my clothes off , which i did and they searche every part of my body , even my asshole , they found nothing . and the stupid guy still have the gut to ask me for money , after wasting my time . i just simply told him " i am not the one that employed You , if you are hungry , go to the person that employed You .


(2) These guys at the airport need to be trained to act professionally .

I am surprised by all these

1) How on earth could they ask you to remove all clothes. They are after your tummy. Nothing more.

The room they used is not even a closed room.

CCTV camera is all over, i still wonder how they ask for bribe.

2) They treat everyone i know with respect sha

I guess they taught i had cocaine on me , cause i look like one of these young cocaine dealers that day i was travelling

Tatoo all around my body , ear rings

pls i need connection to any corporate body who can assist our company with NDLEA clearance for visas.
its like very urgent.
Please if you have any kindly send email to jarret4all@yahoo.com or call me now 08063448853

@ all
wow! I have never been subjected to such nonsense at the airports here and aborad. maybe cos I dont carry much when im travelling or maybe cos I have been lucky all this while. I always look directly at the immigration officers and answer their questions without shifting my gaze. Its a very intimidating posture that helps me to wade off undue agression at foreigh airports.
but the one that pisses me off is when the immigration officer brings out his binoculars to scoff at my passport. I really hate that.
@ big bumper.
u really need to relax oo. Im aware that these officers can make life miserable for you if they are determined to teach you a lesson. A friends nephew was detained for abusing an officer in moscow and he did not have a pleasant experience.

My worst experience with immigration will probably be in Sri Lanka enroute to London via Singapore. We were checking into the departure lounge and all of a sudden two immigration officers spring up and start checking peoples passports. I am thinking thats wierd because most of us are on transit and as such we do not need to deal with any Immigration guys in Sri Lanka. Me being a patriotic Citizen I have my Nigerian passport. When it is my turn to show my passport ,  guess what the guy takes one look at the passport and starts fiddling with it,  4 mins, 8 mins, he's not done yet,  I am getting really pissed, so i asked if anything was wrong and he replied that he has never seen a Nigerian passport before so he has to verify the authencity of the passport. I am totally gobsmacked,  I have a lot of visas on the passport and i know Asians are funny with Nigerian passport but this is got to be the flimsiest excuse ever. He asks what my immigration status is in the UK,  Dual Citiz, do i have any proof of where i live? and thats where i lost it. I told him off severley and the next thing i know they got a woman from the Uk High Commission in Colombo to come and verify my details!!! Luckily she was a black woman and i explained to her what happened and i got to know that they had some problems with dodgy Nigerians hence i was paying that price. A t the end of the day I made the guy apologise. I swore never to go through that God forsaken country or their airline ever again.