LASTCOC urges police to investigate, prosecute masterminders of Tin Can violence 

Stanley Ihedigbo

Lagos State Truck and Cargo Operators Committee (LASTCOC) has urged Nigeria police authority to investigate and persecute masterminders of Tin Can Ports crisis and allegations against them.

According to the Chairman, LASTCOC, Alhaji Lukman Shittu Zangalo , they are working assiduously to achieve the goal of liberating truckers from extortion bandits and economy saboteurs.

In his statement tagged ; Re: : MWUN blames LASTCOC for Tin Can Ports crisis ‘, Zangalo said that their attention has been drawn to several online publications against them on the above subject.

The LASTCOC boss explained:” Firstly, our members are not faceless intruders in the maritime industry. We are not offshoot of Lagos State Parks and Garages. We are notable members of maritime trucking community, unions and associations doing legitimate business of transportation in the ports environment. Our presence along the ports access roads is necessitated by the need to rescue our business from illegal activities of extortion bandits at multiple checkpoints along the access roads of the ports causing traffic obstruction, beating our drivers, destroying our trucks and sabotaging authorities effort of promoting trade facilitation and seamless evacuation of cargoes from the Ports.

“As law abiding citizens, there was never a time we threaten the peace and security of the Ports through hiring of thugs. We carry out all our road clearance operations in Apapa and Tincan in a peaceful and organized manner together with security and traffic enforcement operatives.

“During our first Tin Can Ports access road clearance operation on the 6th of December 2023, we went there in the company of Nigerian Ports Authority personnel, the Police, LASTMA and Military OP Mesa sanitize the Tincan Port corridor to drive away trucks that are obstructing free flow of traffic by parking to buy call up, scavenging for TDO and fixing of mechanical break down trucks. We met stiff resistance from MWUN boys led by Taofeek popularly known as Tao who insisted we cannot clear the road that trucks at Tin Can Ports have spent over one month with necessary documentation as contained in his press statement.

” But cannot access the port and neither were upstairs with circular from NPA that Tin Can Ports has shutdown because trucks cannot enter for over one month. Tao and his thugs unleashed terror and attacked us with petrol in attempt to set us ablaze. Tao second in command popularly called Timaya attempted to collect riffle from OP Mesa soldier but was overpowered and whisked to Lagos Task Force at Oshodi where the MWUN PG pleaded for his release. PG MWUN on many occasions keep saying that MWUN has no business being on the roads since it is not its constitutional right to operate within the roads,” the LASTCOC boss further explained.

He added that there was no official press statement from MWUN and its PG condemning what their boys did outside the port along Tin Can Port corridor to the detriment of public peace, security and traffic orderliness in the port environment.

“After our meeting with Chairman Implementation Committee and also the Apapa Port Manager during which the issue of Tin Can Port traffic was discussed, we promised to decongest the Tin Can port corridor like we did in the past.

On the 6th of February 2024, as we went to Tin Can Port to clear the road, we came under attack by armed MWUN thugs whose PG always said they are not suppose to be on road. They attacked us. One person lost his life and three persons left bullet wounds are currently receiving treatment. Surprisingly, MWUN that attacked us at Tin Can Port is now claiming victim all over media outlets to cover up their lawless conduct.

“Concerning selling of ticket, there was no period in time LASTCOC blocked road at Tin Can Port to impose ticket on any trucker. We challenge MWUN and anybody accusing us to come with proof of sellers and buyers of ticket sold by LASTCOC at Tincan. It is an aberration to block the road to sell ticket.

“The Taxes and Levies Act, Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004 Section 2 (2) disallows any person, including a tax authority from mounting a road block in any part of the federation for the purposes of collecting any tax or levy. It is against the law for anybody under any guise to mount checkpoints along Tin Can port corridor restricting the movement of our members under the guise of selling collaboration tickets. Unions should be selling tickets to their registered members in their garages.

“It is an aberration to infringe on others right of way in order to sell tickets on the road. Secondly, mounting of road blocks/extortion checkpoints in the ports environment is flagrant violation of the Standard Operating Procedure of Nigerian Port Process Manual on ease of doing business,  trade facilitation and seamless evacuation of cargoes from the Nigerian ports.

“Thirdly, considering the role of our ports in national economic development, no individual or union activities should be allowed to jeopardize the security architecture or disrupt the operations of the ports through actions that might lead to breach of peace and violent confrontations.

“In the light of the foregoing therefore, we implore members of the public to disregard and ignore all the blackmail propaganda against LASTCOC from those that are benefiting from traffic gridlock that is sabotaging Government effort of enhancing trade facilitation, seamless evacuation of cargoes and traffic orderliness in the Ports

“LASTCOC has become a threat to their traffic economy empire within and outside the ports corridors. LASTCOC has thrown their camps into confusion, panic and pandemonium. They are running helter skelter all over the media outlets blackmail us into silence. Forces of extortion within and outside the Ports environment have collaborated to sabotage the ongoing effort of LASTCOC to liberate Truckers from the shackle of their unlawful and criminal activities through mischievous and misleading propaganda.

“No amount of blackmailing propaganda would draw us back from achieving the goal of trade facilitation, seamless evacuation of cargoes and ease of doing transportation business within and outside the ports environment in collaboration with authorities and relevant stakeholders. We guided by our business and National interest, ” he stressed.