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Nigeria may have lost more than $600 million in customs revenue and taxes over the past three decades through the alleged unlawful disposal of shipping containers by foreign shipping lines, a development that is now drawing renewed scrutiny from trade experts and industry stakeholders.
The latest controversy centres on reports that Grimaldi Agency Nigeria plans to dispose of over 2,500 empty containers to members of the public at prices ranging from $1,600 for 20-foot units to $2,000 for 40-foot containers, with payments reportedly required in United States dollars through domiciliary accounts.
While the proposed sale has reignited debate within the maritime sector, international trade consultant and Principal Consultant at International Trade Advisory Services, Mr. Okey Ibeke, argues that the issue extends far beyond pricing. According to him, it touches on customs compliance, foreign exchange regulations, trade facilitation standards and government revenue protection.
Speaking at a briefing with members of the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) in Lagos, Ibeke called on the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, to immediately suspend the transaction and launch a comprehensive audit of container disposal practices by shipping lines operating in Nigeria.
A Temporary Import System Under Scrutiny
At the heart of the controversy is the legal status of the containers.
Under Nigeria’s Customs Act and Temporary Importation Guidelines, containers enter the country under a temporary admission regime, allowing them to facilitate cargo movement without attracting import duties, provided they are subsequently re-exported.
Ibeke contends that once such containers are sold locally, they cease to qualify as temporary imports and must be formally converted to permanent imports through customs procedures, including valuation, duty assessment and payment of applicable taxes and levies.
Failure to undertake this conversion, he argues, potentially violates provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and undermines government revenue collection mechanisms.
Using current tariff rates applicable to shipping containers, Ibeke estimates that government revenue losses could range between $875,000 and $1 million from the proposed Grimaldi transaction alone. Extrapolated across decades of container disposals by multiple shipping companies, the cumulative loss could exceed $600 million.
Industry estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of containers have been converted into shops, offices, storage facilities and residential structures across Nigeria without evidence of customs regularisation.
Beyond Customs: International Trade and WTO Concerns
The issue also raises broader questions regarding international trade governance.
Under the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), member states are encouraged to ensure transparency, predictability and compliance in customs procedures. The alleged diversion of goods admitted under temporary import arrangements into domestic commerce without proper customs treatment undermines these principles and distorts legitimate trade processes.
Trade experts further point to provisions under the Revised Kyoto Convention of the World Customs Organization (WCO), regarded as the global benchmark for customs procedures, which require goods admitted temporarily to be re-exported or properly regularised before entering domestic circulation.
Questions have also been raised about reported demands for payment in foreign currency for transactions conducted entirely within Nigeria. Such practices could conflict with domestic foreign exchange regulations and run counter to efforts aimed at strengthening the Naira and reducing dollarisation within the economy.
Calls for Industry-Wide Investigation
Ibeke insists that the matter extends beyond a single operator.
He notes that major global shipping lines, including Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, COSCO, ONE, Evergreen and PIL, have operated within Nigeria’s maritime ecosystem for decades under similar temporary import arrangements.
The economics are compelling. With Nigeria importing significantly more containerised cargo than it exports, shipping lines often face high costs repatriating empty containers. Rather than return them overseas, some operators may find local disposal commercially attractive.
Industry opinion remains divided. While some stakeholders have described the practice as an assault on Nigeria’s economic interests, others argue that container sales have long been a recognised feature of maritime trade.
For Ibeke, however, the solution is a comprehensive audit of container movements, reconciliation of port and customs records, recovery of unpaid duties and sanctions against any operator found to have violated the law.
As Nigeria intensifies efforts to expand non-oil revenue and strengthen fiscal sustainability, the controversy raises a critical question: how much public revenue may have quietly slipped through the cracks of the nation’s maritime supply chain?
