Clearing Agents Protests Police Continued Disruption of Activities

Laments Loss of Trade, Revenue Due To FG

Urge IGP Disu To Call Lagos Airport CP To Order

BY GBOGBOWA GBOWA

The Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has accused the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) of the illegal sealing of the Secretariat of its Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) chapter; running over half a year, already.

 The South-West Zonal Coordinator of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Alhaji. Femi Anifowose (middle) addressing journalists on Tuesday.

Officials of the association during a peaceful demonstration protest at its National Secretariat located at Amuwo-Odofin Lagos on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, further accused the NPF of colluding with questionable individuals which the association described as rebels and troublesome former members that have been expelled due to their alleged irresponsible and ungovernable nature; to foment trouble.

Addressing pressmen during the said protest, the Association South-West Zonal Coordinator, Alhaji  Femi Anifowose accused MMIA Commissioner of Police, Mrs.  Ogunbode Olufunke of not just orchestrating the unwarranted lockup of the chapter secretariat but of also deliberately refusing to reopen the place, despite directives believed to have issued from the  Office of the former Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.

Speaking during a press conference and protest at the ANLCA national headquarters in Lagos, Anifowose said the continued closure of the airport secretariat has disrupted the association’s operations and is negatively affecting government revenue.

According to Anifowose, the refusal to unseal the office has prevented members from properly organizing their activities in line with directives of the Federal Government and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

“This woman has refused to open the ANLCA office at the airport despite instructions from the former Inspector-General of Police. Because of this decision, the government is losing money as the activities of licensed customs agents are badly affected,” he said.

He maintained that access to the secretariat would allow the association to regulate its members, improve coordination and ensure compliance with government policies. He stressed that the current situation has left members “scattered” with weakened internal control mechanisms within the association; leading to loss of businesses and loss of revenue generation into the federation account.

The South West leader of ANLCA also alleged that the police officer for consistently ignoring  a valid court order and directives issued by senior police authorities, including an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, directing that the association’s property be handed over to the Board of Trustees (BoT), which he described as the legal custodian of ANLCA assets.

He explained that despite repeated visits of the BoT chairman and other executives to the police headquarters in Abuja for the resolution of the the associated dispute, Commissioner Olufunke has failed and refused direct the reopening of the secretariat.

“We went with the BoT chairman and other leaders to meet the police authorities. We were told to provide an undertaking, which we did. Yet the keys have still not been released to us.”

The zonal coordinator further alleged that the situation has created internal tensions within the association, insisting that the leadership structure at the airport chapter had already been resolved but the police refusal to reopen the office has again begun to steadily undermine the resolution.

He lamented that the continued closure of the secretariat is affecting trade facilitation activities at the airport and called on the current Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu to urgently intervene and call the affected CP to order.

“We are appealing to the Nigerian Police Force to look into this matter very critically. This is already affecting our operations and our trade. We are professionals and we collect revenue for government. But since this development, our revenue collection capacity has greatly dwindled. To that extent, as a group and individual professionals, we are losing money just as much as the federal government is,” he added.

Other senior members of the zonal authority who spoke with our reporter noted that even though members are always peaceful and disciplined, the level of frustration over the closure of the secretariat is steadily rising and may reach breaking point with the resultant effects of the inability of the leadership to guaranty peace and order at the airport.

Efforts to reach the Commissioner of Police for comments on the allegations were unsuccessful as calls and messages sent to the command has not been responded to as at the time of going to press.