http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/july/21/national-21-07-2011-013.html

Umeh urges Jonathan to save Igbo traders from Customs’ harassment
From PETRUS OBI, Enugu
Thursday, July 21, 2011


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National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene and get the Comptroller-General of Customs to stop incessant harassment of Igbo traders.
Umeh who spoke in Enugu yesterday, noted that the Igbos have been paying heavy tolls on their goods in the country, insisting that the daily seizure of goods being moved around the country by Igbo traders in the name of contraband is worrisome

“It is a clear indication by the customs that they have failed in the discharge of their official duties and require urgent action by the presidency.
“All over the world, the activities of Customs and Excise officials are restricted to the borders and entry points; the airports and the seaports, as agents of border control. There is no case of anybody impounding goods within a country; you seize banned goods at the point of entry into any country; but the Customs men would collect bribes at the airports and seaports, and let in banned goods.

“It is therefore wrong for them to arrest innocent traders who travel from Aba to Lagos and buy goods from dealers in shops and why transporting their goods back to Aba; starting from Lagos, along Benin-Ore highway, men of the Customs have continued to seize these goods.

Umeh noted that there are no goods that enter the country without the knowledge of Customs; “so, what is happening now is a clear show of failure on the part of Customs and we are asking Mr. President to use his good office to get Custom officials to stop harassing Igbo traders on the roads.
“In-fact, the President should ban arrest of anybody moving goods within Nigeria. If they slip through these points of entry into Nigeria, then, the people who should be held responsible for any negative effect of Nigerian Customs and Excise. Not the innocent traders who do not know which one is banned or not.
“You go to the market to buy something, and you want to go to another point to sell it, you will be arrested and you lose your money. Many Igbo youths have been sent to their early graves because of the activities of the Customs men.

“They have a notorious commander in Owerri sector that traders complain about. Government should take urgent steps to intervene. It does not make sense that somebody purchases goods worth N2 million and seizing these goods on transit and again turning back to collect bribes from the same trader before releasing such good.
“So government must stop playing the ostrich and come out with a clear government policy to make it unlawful for these men to arrest goods moving within Nigeria. If they want to help Nigeria, they should shun corruption; if this thing continues it may lead to bloodshed because, traders have vowed not to allow this to continue,” Umeh said.

This is the effect of not having/developing a seaport in the east. Imaging clearing goods at Lagos port and having to haul it all the way to the east, with all that police and custom checkpoints? The only way is to develop the Onitsha port as it will ease the level of corruption and harassment of these traders or better still outright separation of Igbo land from the dungeon called nigeria.

alex_101:

This is the effect of not having/developing a seaport in the east. Imaging clearing goods at Lagos port and having to haul it all the way to the east, with all that police and custom checkpoints? The only way is to develop the Onitsha port as it will ease the level of corruption and harassment of these traders or better still outright separation of Igbo land from the dungeon called nigeria.

what does igboland need seaport for when we have festac state which tincan port is there

also an airport would be apporiate

Also, I've to commend Umeh for raising this issue with Jonathan. It's been a while since we have men that speak out for Igbo interests in the nigerian dungeon, especially as it affect the Igbo youth on day to day basis. Part of this is why I don't share the sentiment/saying that "Igbo e'we eze". In a dungeon like nigeria, you cannot be too individualistic or too republican as we need a clear and designated leadership that will speak on our behalf as a people. If we keep exhibiting this notion of stupidity called "republicanism" in nigeria, then it will be easy for the enemy to pick on any Igbo chap without anyone raising an eyebrow.

The notion "Igbo e'we eze" will be perfect in an Igbo/Biafra nation,,,but will be tantamount to suicide in a dungeon like nigeria. EFULEFUs, you're hereby warned

deleted

Yes, our customs, police, and even immigration officials don't know what it means to be "customer friendly" To them the traders are the enemy and not their customers.
Traders, Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba are the main reason why customs and excersise exist. They should be respected, searched at entry points, and enabled to carry on their constitutional activities

ndi igbo kwenu

Also a space station

Not again. This people no dey taya ni? Alway yelling and crying about something.

all igbo traders across the country should have a warning protest against this stupid custom intimidation , in china custom are alowed only in seeport airport and nation boerders ,i have never see any custom on the road block looking for traders fo checking.i have been carring goods from one province to another i never see any custom or police stoped me for searching, good luck should immediatly other the instulation of cctv camera in the all places police ,customs, immigration, embassies and where ever task force are working to monitor what they are doing. so that this corroption will stop. custom and police officers wife are the business tycone of nowdays they have no factory but they are the whole salers of all goods now own shops and plaza every where in the country.

oh what a shock! ibos are whining again. the custom officers must be Alj Harem's kinsmen. lots of kanuris in customs . alhaji, warn your ppl ooo.

lagcity:

oh what a shock! ibos are whining again. the custom officers must be Alj Harem's kinsmen. lots of kanuris in customs . alhaji, warn your ppl ooo.

in lagos i guess not

The Igbo traders should protest this. Watch the country grind to a halt if the Igbo traders do not sell any goods.

alj_harem:

in lagos i guess not

in lagos wetin? be clear

lagcity:

in lagos wetin? be clear

Not much kaunris in lagos but have a good population around 800,000, rough estimate.

i have a cousin as part of the custom officers, tell me what u want him to do.

maybe we should tax them 200,000N per container. still thing

alj_harem:

Not much kaunris in lagos but have a good population around 800,000, rough estimate.

i have a cousin as part of the custom officers, tell me what u want him to do.

[b]maybe we should tax them 200,000N per container. s[/b]till thing

and you wonder why things are getting more expensive in nigeria you think they are fools they will add triple of their loss to the cost of the product and nigerians will keep suffering for that.

Eko Ile:

Not again. This people no dey taya ni? Alway yelling and crying about something.

while your people are known for dying in silence.

open the benin republic border for igbo trader

Uche2008:

open the benin republic border for igbo trader

thats worse , the solution is onitsha and calabar port , ph to is open though its more expensive

EzeUche:

The Igbo traders should protest this. Watch the country grind to a halt if the Igbo traders do not sell any goods.

That's why I said the traders are their customers and should be treated with respect. Can you imagine? There will be no customs if there're no traders, just the same way there will be no teachers without students.

Its time Mr President speak to this most corrupted sector. This day-to-day harrasment on the roads are uncalled for.

Give peace a chance

Why make it Igbo issue?

yeye custom people. at the end of the year wharf will still make nothing for the national budget.

Akanbi_edu:

Why make it Igbo issue?

Answer

The article centered igbo traders and how they move goods, @topic , very unfortunate that things like this happen.

are igbos the only ppl that import goods into Nigeria?

How difficult is it to develop other ports in the country (including inland ports in Baro and Lokoja)?

The customs harass non-igbo traders too.

Heeeeeey!!! uche, Lekuwe ATM machine.

Muza:

are igbos the only ppl that import goods into Nigeria?

THE POINT HEZ TRYING TO MAKE IS THAT MORE OF THE TRADERS ARE IGBOS

true i Jonathan needs to re structure this custom officers any of them found in the road or street should be sack with no delay

I wonder when we will be objective in our analysis in this forum.
This thing affects us all, even the yorubas that are talking, with your love for 'owambee' and 'ashebi', do u realise that london wax and hitarget u use are banned? But they find their into our markets in kano and lagos after about 3million is paid per container as bribe. Then when traders frm aba, ibadan and oda places buy they still 'settle' these custom bois. When u are charged high price for a common 6 yrds, u start swearing and cursing.
Lets use these medium to suggest ways to curb the excesses of these men