By Kenneth Jukpor
Following complaints about the activities of officers of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) at Lagos ports and along the ports access roads, the Commissioner of Police (CP), Western Ports, Mr. Cyril Okoro, has assured more effective policing from his officers.
The Police CP gave this assurance yesterday, when he led some top officers of the command on a working visit to the Tin Can Island Port and a familiarization visit to the Tin-Can Island Chapter of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA).
CP Okoro also charged the agents to always be law abiding and admonished them to desist from taking laws into their hands in their operations at the port environment.
The Police boss assured that his office was always open to receive freight agents, however, he advised them to reach their executives during instances where they couldn’t reach the police on time.
He opined that the practice of freight forwarding like any other business involving people, was bound to be problematic and have conflicts. However, he admonished the operators to be liberal and diligent in order to see such matters resolved amicably.
Okoro also urged the members of the association to continue the cordial relationship they have with officers of the police force attached to the command over the years.
“I already spoke with your chairman when we went in, he told me about your existing cordial relationship with the Police. I have also learnt from my officers that there has been a robust relationship between the command and the association. I will solicit that the good relationship continues under my watch and we can even take it to the next level”, he said.
“The chairman is here as well as your other representatives, get across to them and they will get across to to us, we are all human beings so we should come together to ensure that problems are solved”
On the significance of the visit, he noted that it was in line with the agenda of the Inspector General of Police on Community Policing.
“You know the thrust of the Inspector General of Police is anchored on Community Policing. Community policing is simply a system of the force that relates directly with the citizens in the community who they are meant to provide services for. It is in line with that agenda that I saw it as it as a necessity that I should relate directly with your association, that it is one of the most critical associations in the maritime industry” he said.
Meanwhile in his welcome address the Tin Can Island Chapter chairman of ANLCA, Prince Segun Oduntan, said that the essence of the visit was for the CP to familiarize with the Tin Can Island Port environment.
“The essence of this visit is for the Port Authority Police CP to familiarize himself with the Port environment. So it is more like a cordial and operational visit. You have seen that he is accessible and open. This would ensure that we can have a beneficial mutual relationship and the activities of his officers can be monitored”, Oduntan said.
