The Nigeria Customs Service has released 36 trucks belonging to members of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners that were earlier seized during an investigation into suspected trade infractions at Zarmmak Bonded Terminal in the Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos.
The trucks had been detained by Customs Police from the Zone ‘A’ Federal Operations Unit after the bonded terminal was sealed due to alleged violations of Customs regulations.
Although the specific details of the suspected infractions were not made public by the Service, the seizure caused significant disruption to trucking activities and generated worries among transport operators regarding increasing financial losses.
The Secretary-General of AMATO, Mr. Sani Mohammed, confirmed the release of the vehicles. He credited the development to the personal intervention of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, after several appeals from the association. According to him, the affected truck owners insisted they were not involved in the alleged infractions being investigated and should not suffer the consequences of issues connected to the terminal’s operations.
“The intervention of the Comptroller-General has brought significant relief to our members who had suffered avoidable financial losses as a result of the prolonged detention of their trucks,” Mohammed said.
In an official statement, AMATO conveyed gratitude to the Customs chief for his swift and compassionate action, which they said reflected the Service’s dedication to trade facilitation and effective stakeholder relations.
The association noted that the release of the trucks would allow the impacted operators to restart their businesses and reduce the economic effects of the disruption.
Speaking on the enforcement operation, the Controller of Zone ‘A’ Federal Operations Unit, Comptroller Aliyu Gambo, explained that the action was taken to enforce compliance with existing Customs laws.
Attempts to get a response from the management of Zarmmak Bonded Terminal proved unsuccessful, and calls as well as text messages sent to the FOU Controller prior to filing this report received no reply.
