The multi-billion dollar imports which the port normally handles, have always either been smuggled into Nigeria or entered into the country through approved border stations, but the port charges, freight forwarding charges and the labour charges go to Benin Republic, making the country parasitic on Nigeria as 95 per cent of the cargoes the Cotonou Port handles in a year is consumed by Nigerians.
This is even as the economy of Benin Republic depends on the seaport. Sources at the Owode Market on Friday told Sunday Telegraph that vessels laden with rice meant to be smuggled into Nigeria could not discharge their consignments at the port, as all the warehouses in the Cotonou Port have been filled beyond capacity with rice which could not get into Nigeria because of the effective implementation of the ban the authorities of Seme Border Command of Nigerian Customs Service.
Sunday Telegraph learnt that rice worth over $3 billion destined for the Nigerian markets are stuck in various warehouses in Benin Republic due to the refusal of the Federal Government to allow its importation through land borders and fierce customs anti-smuggling drive.
The annual routine of importing rice into the neighbouring country from July to December to make massive sales in Nigeria during the Yuletide has hit a brickwall this year as the Controller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) has charged his men to tighten the frontiers. Some consignments of imported rice into the small West African country that had no space at the usual and popular stores were moved to makeshift storage areas and are exposed to rains and other unhygienic forms of storage.
Popular warehouses no longer receive rice shipments as thousands of bags earlier delivered to them since July could not be evacuated into Nigeria as planned and as was usually the case in previous years. Popular Cherika Warehouse in Akpakpa near Cotonou with a capacity to hold 25,000 bags is fully loaded with Thailand Rice with no hope of evacuating them into Nigeria except government relaxes its policy disallowing rice imports through the border or customs soften their round the clock enforcement.
Defezi Warehouse close to the Cotonou Port which is filled with over 40,000 units of 50kg bags of Indian and Thailand Rice.
Defezi became occupied earlier due to its proximity to the port but was not evacuated as the owners could not risk entering Nigeria with the goods. Cica Warehouse in Missebo area on the outskirts of Cotonou that suffered lack of patronage in the past due to its distance from the Seme border and bad road presently have over 200,000 bags. Some are getting moulded, caked with their bags torn and quantity reduced while under storage in several odd arrangements endlessly awaiting shipment into Nigeria.
While hope of smuggling them into Nigeria dims by the day, there is a conscious effort at attempting the smuggling of the commodity without using bags.
The unwholesome methods require pouring grains of rice into various compartments of vehicles like the booths, bon-nets, inner parts of the doors, under the seats and other spaces meant for spare tyres and tools.
Sources disclosed that attempts to try bringing in some hundreds of bags failed as all smuggled rice in that attempt ended up inside the customs warehouse in Seme and Idiroko as seizures. From January most of the cars landing in the Cotonou Port meant for Nigerian use will also be stuck, the authorities of Seme Customs Command has assured.
Sunday Telegraph checks revealed that Seme Customs is ready to deploy officers in the vehicle seat unit to full anti-smuggling and legitimate trade facilitation functions. There are fears in Cotonou that by January over 7,000 units of cars will be in the popular car markets in that country.
Sequel to this our correspondent saw long convoys of imported fairly-used vehicles (also known as tokunbo) at the Benin side of the border waiting to be cleared to enter Nigeria on Friday. It was disclosed that the importers of the vehicles were rushing to bring in all their vehicles from the Contonou Port to beat the December 31, 2016 deadline given by the Federal Government before the recent ban on importation of fairly-used vehicles through the land borders takes effect.
Sources close to the management of Seme Border Command, said that with the upsurge in importation of fairly-used vehicles through the Seme border, the revenue of the command is set to rise this month.
Meanwhile, our correspondent who visited the famous Owode Border Market on Friday, learnt that though the warehouses at the Cotonou Port have not been emptied because of the ban, vessels continue to come in, as was the case with Christmas festivities around the corner.
According to the source, the people of Benin cannot be able to consume the large quantities of imported rice in the country now because it is too much for them. “As a result, the importers who are mainly Nigerians and Asians are counting their loses, as some of the rice packed in the open spaces is rotting away under the sun and rainfall as any attempt to bring it into Nigeria in large quantities will result to seizure by customs.”
Our correspondent, who visited some of the border towns on Friday to monitor the effectiveness of the ban, observed that only few smugglers using motorcycles as means of transporting the grains were operating, ferrying two to three bags at a time.
From Owode where the rice is sold for N11, 000 to Badagry roundabout, which is about five kilometers, the smugglers make a profit of about N7, 000, selling a bag between N17, 000 to 18,000 a bag. At Mile 2, it sells at between N19, 000 to 20,000 a bag. Only those small smugglers on motorcycle were able to operate in the day time, but Sunday Telegraph learnt that the more daring smugglers (called Fayawo in Yourba parlance), operate in rickety vehicles at night and the carry larger quantities. “Owode is fast becoming a ghost town because of all these governments’s polices,” an indigene of the town who would not want his name published said.
“Our people depend on this business and it is what we inherited from our parents. Trading relationships between us and our kith and kins at the other side of the border have been on for over 300 years, our grand fathers did it, but the government is now banning this and that. Our problem here started when government jacked up the price of petrol from N97 a liter to N145, over 20 filling stations around here closed down because it is no longer profitable to take the product across the border to Cotonou.
“If you look from Badagry to this place (Owode), on both sides of the road, you will notice that most of the filling stations have closed shop because they used to depend on export of the product to Benin.
“Then the ban on rice import from the land borders was announced, and now there is this ban on the importation of vehicles from the land borders. How do they want us to survive? Do they want us to steal since they don’t want us to buy and sell?” he asked.
It will be recalled that the Nigerian Customs Service recently said that it will impose total ban on importation of rice into the country by 2017. Customs Spokesman, Wale Adeniyi, who made the disclosure, explained that rice importation through land borders remained banned and prohibited, warning that those especially smugglers caught violating the law will be arrested and prosecuted. A statement by Wale Adeniyi, said, “The prohibition order covers all new and used vehicles.”
Meanwhile, the Seme Customs Command has said that the border, Nigeria’s busiest land frontier is set for another regime of enforcement following recent Federal Government directive banning importation of vehicles through the borders with effect from January 1, 2017.
Spokesman of Seme Command, Taupyen Selchang said customs at the border are ready to carry out the enforcement function like they are doing with rice and will ensure seizure of cars if smugglers attempt to smuggle the vehicles into the country.
Selchang, a Superintendent of Customs, described his command as the most difficult place to do smuggling in Nigeria which has forced many perpetrators of the anti economic vice to seek alternative routes and options. He added that the successes recorded in the fight against rice smuggling will also be achieved in the enforcement of the ban on fairly-used vehicles.
He said, ‘’Under our present Controller we have evolved an unrelenting round the clock anti -smuggling approach. We are doing it successfully on the ban on rice. “Automobiles will not be different. Seme is now the most difficult place to smuggle. Perpetrators are seeking alternative routes in other borders and they are not finding it easy.
We hope to deploy more officers strategically and we have started with the yuletide approaching. “The CAC insists on uncompromising discharge of all directives from our CGC and the government. Enforcing ban on motor vehicles import through the borders will not be different here in Seme border.’’
He further said, ‘’We are increasing our intelligence and surveillance capability. With better coordinated intelligence, enforcement is easier. We are leaving no stone unturned including checking the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) to ensure goods manufactured outside the sub regional bloc are not smuggled under the scheme’s cover,” he said.
Nigeria shares major border frontiers with Benin Republic at Seme Border (Lagos), Idiroko (Ogun), Shaki (Oyo),Chikanda (Kwara) and other smaller openings . Prominent among them is Seme where the highest volume of trade and largest smuggling opportunity exists because of its easier access to Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital city.
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