By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
Importers in Port Harcourt have applauded the efficient security measures put in place at the Port Harcourt Wharf of the Nigerian Ports Authority, which made it possible for the arrest of some criminals on Monday.
In a chat with TPCN on Saturday, an importer who deals in building materials said he was happy when he heard that some criminals were apprehended at the Port Harcourt Wharf and paraded by the marine police.
The importer, who gave his name as Uche, commended the NPA for improving the security situation at the Port Harcourt Wharf.
“The NPA and their police have tried to arrest those thieves and recover those bags of wheat. You know that wheat flour is very expensive now.
“To import anything now is not even easy because the dollar is very high. That is what all of us are suffering today. I deal with building materials, and I know how much I spend to import them. So, somebody will suffer that thing now, and another person will go and steal it? That is evil.
“Imagine stealing up to 23 bags of somebody’s wheat. Maybe that is where the person’s profit is. It’s not good. People will not go and look for work to do, but they will be stealing other people’s sweat,” he lamented.
On what he thinks should be the right solution to the issue of criminality in the Niger Delta, the importer said: “Yes, criminality is our major problem here. Most of the youths are not doing anything.
“And they say that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. So, the government should help them. They can give some of these youths money to start a business or train them for various skills. Companies should also help because the government cannot do everything.
“The boys should also help themselves. Some of them are not even ready to work or do anything. When they get little money, they will go and smoke and drink kaikai and carry women. So, my advice to them is that they should be serious with their lives. Stealing does not pay,” he added.
Two hoodlums, Williams Tabotamuno and Akpos Ekiye were arrested on Monday while trying to vandalise the NPA wharf steel beams of the Port Harcourt Port. They were detained through the effort of the Nigerian Ports Authority internal security and the Marine Police.
A few days before then, five persons were arrested for stealing 23 bags of wheat valued at N166,500 from the harbour. The five suspects arrested in connection with the crime include Chibuike Itemo, Lucky Obenuwoma, Jonathan Samuel, Ebenezer Kingsley and Jonah Christmas.
Explaining the processes that led to the arrest of the criminals who attempted to vandalise the steel beams, the commissioner of police, Eastern Ports Police Command, Evelyn Tami Peterside, told newsmen on Wednesday that it was the naval officers escorting a vessel from Bonny to the Port Harcourt Wharf on Monday that first noticed the vandals’ suspicious movements.
“One of the naval officers saw some people under the quay apron, and they were pointing that something is there. Luckily, the port security was on patrol. When they saw that people were gathering, they stopped. The moment they suspected that people were under, they alerted the Marine Police, and the Marine Police chased after them.”
According to her, items recovered from the suspects included one techno mobile phone, one wooden canoe with some particles of rusted iron fittings, two paddles, three gas cylinders of different sizes and two spanners.
In a press statement signed by her and made available to journalists, Peterside said the vandals were members of a notorious organised syndicate that had been vandalising the beams of quay aprons of the port terminals.
“Efforts are ongoing to trace their accomplice receivers in order to smash similar syndicates of notorious vandals. The arrest of these hoodlums will no doubt reduce the tide of vandalising the quay aprons of the ports,” the statement noted, adding that the criminals would be charged to court when the investigation is concluded.
She further revealed similar success at the Calabar Port, where a truckload of wheat was recovered from hoodlums. Her statement reads: “Similarly, on 24/04/2021, a truck loaded with 39,000kg of wheat at ECO Mariu Terminal, Cross River State, Calabar, under the Eastern Command, was recovered from hoodlums. The said property belongs to Niger Mills Calabar.”
The statement disclosed that the goods were diverted to an unknown destination.
“Through prompt efforts of the police, the driver was arrested, and the truck loaded with wheat recovered and released to the owner, Niger Mills Calabar. Suspects arrested include the driver, one Akande Adeo and three others who conspired with him to commit the crime have since been charged to court,” the statement noted.
