The police commissioner in charge of Port Authority Police Western Command, Toyin Agbaminoja, says the force recorded five stowaway cases and prosecuted 20 suspects at Lagos magistrates’ courts between April and August.

Ms Agbaminoja disclosed this at the Nigerian Ports Consultative Council quarterly meeting in Lagos on Thursday.

Ms Agbaminoja said five stowaway cases involving 20 suspects were charged, including cases handled in collaboration with the Nigeria Immigration Service and Nigerian Navy. She said the command also recorded six stealing cases and one case of false pretence, which were awaiting trial in court.

Ms Agbaminoja identified inadequate patrol vehicles as one of the challenges facing the command, noting that only two divisions had vehicles, which were already old. She also cited the lack of modern gunboats for marine operations and inadequate accommodation as challenges affecting effective policing and trade facilitation.

The NIS’s seaports/marine command said it cleared 1,118 arriving vessels carrying 24,378 crew members between April and August, including 969 departing vessels with 21,942 crew members within the period.

The comptroller, Clementina Ogbudu, said the command recorded 25 stowaway suspects, comprising three Ghanaians, one Beninese and one Cameroonian.

Ms Ogbudu attributed the arrests to joint efforts with the Nigerian Navy Ship Beecroft, which enhanced maritime security patrols in Lagos. She identified inadequate office accommodation at Bakassi, Apapa, and the absence of a screening centre for suspects as major challenges.

Ms Ogbudu also cited the lack of intelligence officers at port gates and the need for the government to allocate agency buildings and a detention facility.

(NAN)