Bayo Akomolafe 
LACK
Police has no understanding of seafarers’ role in world trade and cargoe movement
Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA) has accused the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) of extortion, harassment, detention and molestation of its members aboard ships. The seafarers’ union attributed the development to a recent clampdown on fake merchant navy groups by the Lagos State Police Command. Secretary General of the union, Comrade John Okpono Aleakhue, explained in Lagos that the current trend was an aftermath of the raid conducted in 2021 by the Police on some illegal merchant navy outfits in an operation that led to the arrest of over 100 personnel. He stressed that the union was set up by the Nigerian Trade Union Act, noting that it was an affiliate of Trade Union Congress (TUC) and International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) as the recognised seafarers body in Nigeria.
Aleakhue, who explained that the union was a core player in the maritime sector, urged the police high authorities not to generalise the nomenclature, but to understand the roles played by seamen, most especially as it concerns the Trade Union Congress (TUC). The secretary general said that despite members’ civil ways of identification to police officers, they still insisted on detaining them.
Aleakhue, who reiterated the Comrade Bob Yousou-led NMNOWTSSA commitment to discourage any form of illegalities perpetrated by fake merchant navy groups in Nigeria, said that the union was a reputable outfit in Nigeria water transport sub-sector.
He said that NMNOWTSSA was not proscribed by the Federal Government because of the activities of some union groups. Also, Aleakhue called on the police high command to release the union members in detention in Lagos and Ogun states respectively, saying the harassment, intimidation, molestation and illegal arrest of genuine officers onboard ships was alarming.
He said: “The Merchant Navy is a discipline that cannot be proscribed by any law. More than 90 per cent of the world cargo is being transported by the seafarers. If the world acknowledges this, then I don’t see what Nigeria can do about it. “Our problem now is in Lagos and Ogun states aftermath of the clampdown on some illegal Merchant Navy formations in Lagos.
This led to the commissioner of police in Lagos State giving a general statement that the merchant navy has been banned. “Since then, some police stations have taken advantage of the situation.
They now molest, harass and extort our members. We appeal to the press to help us inform the public and the police officers because they do not understand what merchant navy is all about.”
Aleakhue said that plans were ongoing to engage the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Alkali Usman Baba, on the recent development, explaining that the union had earlier engaged him when he was the Commissioner of Police (Western Port) and Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Maritime, Zone II.
