Priest, Customs PRO disagree over N10m consignment

A UK-based priest, Rev. Stanley Anyanwu, has accused the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Tin Can Island Port, Apapa, Lagos State, Mr. Chris Osunkwo, of withholding a N10.1m consignment he sent to Nigeria.
Anyanwu, a native of Ihiagwa, Owerri West Local Government Area, Imo State, contacted the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria, a body made up of civil organisations, to lodge his complaint, saying he had been cheated.
In a letter detailing Anyanwu’s dealing with Osunkwo, made available to PUNCH Metro, the priest alleged he had on January 15, 2012, informed the Customs officer of his wish to send a cold room truck laden with goods to Nigeria.
According to him, he informed Osunkwo because they came from the same village.
Anyanwu said, “On May 10, 2011, a church member gave me £15,000 (N3.7m) to buy 13.5-tonne cold room truck and ship it to Nigeria.
“When I bought it, I loaded it with goods belonging to some church members. Altogether, the truck was loaded with goods worth £40,000 (N10.1m).
“I then contacted Osunkwo, who is my kinsman and turns out to be the spokesman of Customs, because I knew he would know trustworthy clearing agents.”
But Anyanwu alleged that when he told Osunkwo of his intention, the Customs officer told him he could handle the clearing since he was a ranking officer.
The priest quoted Osunkwo as saying ‘Pastor, don’t ask me of any agent again; if you don’t know, every Customs officer is an agent. I will never have any problem. No matter what, it will be taken care of; go ahead and ship.’
Anyanwu also alleged that Osunkwo promised to send Customs officials to escort the lorry to Anyanwu’s hometown after it had been cleared.
He said, “Although he charged N550,000 as his clearing fees, I ended up paying N760,000 in total before the shipping. I also sent the bill of lading to him.
“I paid the money through some of the owners of the goods items loaded in the lorry, including the traditional ruler of Ihiagwa, Eze Kingsley Odu, a lawyer with Equity Chambers, Owerri, MR. L. M. Alozie, and many others.”
According to the priest, immediately the goods were shipped to Nigeria, Osunkwo stopped picking his calls.
The goods loaded on the truck include eight generators of different capacities, 20 bundles of lace fabric, air conditioners, sets of dining tables with 22 chairs, public address systems, pieces of church mixer, two bicycles, 18 buckets of paint, kitchen equipment and photocopy machine among many other things.
Anyanwu stated, “After several attempts to contact Osunkwo without success, a man, Okey Oduah, contacted me and demanded N70, 000 to ensure the goods in the truck were not impounded. I paid that also.
“I am calling on Customs authorities to ensure that Osunkwo produces the truck and the goods loaded in it.”
However, when PUNCH Metro contacted Osunkwo, he expressed shock that his kinsman had decided to smear his name.
He took our correspondent to the private terminal where the truck was.
Osunkwo explained, “By virtue of my position in Customs, there is no doubt that I know good and trustworthy clearing agents. I am shocked that this man has resorted to lies by telling you that I promised to clear the goods myself.
“This is not the first time I would help him with consignment and I always hand him over to an agent, which was what I did this time.”
The spokesman said the Ifeanyi Chukwu, which Anyanwu said was the pseudonym he used to clear goods, was the agent he handed the priest over to.
He said all the money Anyanwu paid for clearing was paid to the agent.
He admitted that he indeed refused to pick Anyanwu’s calls when he consistently “harassed me with calls.”
Osunkwo said, “If I am your kinsman, at least I have a job to do. This man called everyday asking the same questions I had explained before. I told him he should deal with the agent I introduced him to but he soon had problem with him (Chukwu) when he insulted the man.
“I asked him to pay the man the necessary charges for clearing but he was paying in piecemeal. When I realised that the consignment was entering demurrage, I decided to pay without telling him just to ensure I had a rest of mind.
“When the time came for him to get his truck, he told the agent (Chukwu) to take the consignment to his warehouse and this infuriated the man because it was not his job. I became really angry and tired of Anyanwu at this point too.”
To make matter worse, the terminal misplaced the truck’s key and Anyanwu was informed of this, PUNCH Metro learnt.
It was discovered that the truck had been customised and only a technician could reset its system to make a fabricated key.
Osunkwo said after failed attempt by the terminal to get the truck to work, Anyanwu also sent his own technicians who could not achieve the result.
Our correspondent also spoke with Oduah, who explained that when Chukwu decided not to work with Anyanwu anymore because of his attitude, he took over the clearing.
He stated, “When the terminal wanted to repair the truck, the head was removed but that affected the vehicle’s system. I later told Anyanwu that the only solution was to tow the truck in order to avoid compounding demurrage.
“But he said we must not touch the truck, that he had involved his lawyer. The lawyer brought a letter threatening lawsuit, saying the terminal damaged his truck.
“What he does not know is that Osunkwo does not have power to influence this issue because this is a private terminal. The only thing keeping this truck here is Anyanwu himself.
Oduah showed our correspondent an envelope in which the truck’s key was kept before it was misplaced. It contains the truck’s chassis number, capacity of the truck and other data that would make it easy to be identified.
He said nothing had gone missing in the truck and Anyanwu had the right to verify the goods loaded in it anytime he decided to take it away. He added that the terminal had offered to repair the truck but the legal battle instigated by Anyanwu had prevented it.