| A United Kingdom-registered ship, the Grand America, has escaped from the Lagos port, raising questions about security lapses at the nation’s sea ports.
The ship had off-loaded seven containers suspected of holding electronic waste before leaving between Sunday and Monday, the British Broadcasting Corporation reports. It is not known who released the ship, which was was detained at the port about a week ago, together with another ship carrying a similar cargo. The containers are still at the port and the Federal Government has ordered an investigation into the matter. The report said the disappearance of the ship raised the possibility of complicity by security and port authorities. Director-General of the Nigeria Environmental Standards Enforcement Agency, Ngeri Benebo, told the BBC that the Grand America had arrived at Lagos via Antwerp in Belgium. She said the other ship, the MV Veradin, was originally from New York and had arrived via Spain. When contacted on the telephone, Benebo told THE PUNCH on the telephone on Wednesday night that the disappearance of the was a big surprise to NESREA. She said, “We got information that the ship, carrying electronic waste, would arrive by October 16. But it berthed on October 14. There were seven containers in the ship and we were supposed to do our inspection on board. “But surprisingly, the ship was allowed to offload the cargoes and we later discovered that it had sailed back. We have reported the case to the minister of environment and the Nigerian Ports Authority.” |
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Adeniyi