The Nigeria Customs Service has given importers and agents a two-week ultimatum to clear 905 overtime cargoes stranded at Lagos ports or risk forfeiting them to the Federal Government.

In a notice issued Monday, the NCS said the affected consignments are lying at the Apapa, Tin Can Island, and Ports & Terminal Multipurpose Limited (PTML) commands.

Overtime cargoes refer to shipments that have exceeded their allowable stay at the ports. The agency warned that once the grace period lapses, it will begin the process of disposing of the goods.

“In line with the NCS Act 2023, the underlisted overtime containers and vehicles domiciled at the underlisted commands, following a motion of exparte with suit number, FHC/L/MISC/823/2025, date July 31, 2025, are hereby published for the information of the public.

“Accordingly, importers/agents of the overtime goods are given a two-week grace period from the date of this publication to process and clear their goods or forfeit them to the Federal Government of Nigeria. Please note that, in accordance with the NCS Act 2023, the NCS will commence the process of disposal of all uncleared overtime goods immediately after the expiration of the grace period,” the notice read in part.

According to the notice, the 905 overtime cargoes include 438 units of 40-foot containers and 120 units of 20-foot containers. About 60 used vehicles of various models and years also made the list, alongside 60 groupage containers and 15 consignments of scrap metal.

The directive comes about 18 months after Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, set up a committee to oversee the disposal of overtime cargoes in order to ease the flow of imports and exports.

On November 9, 2023, NCS spokesperson Abdullahi Maiwada announced in a statement that the committee had been inaugurated at the Service’s headquarters in Abuja.

The move is in line with the new Customs Act, which empowers the Service to dispose of containers that have overstayed at the ports. Adeniyi stressed that decongesting the ports remains a top priority for both the NCS and President Bola Tinubu, as it would boost efficiency and trade facilitation.

NCS spokesperson Abdullahi Maiwada added that the value of the affected containers and vehicles varies, urging importers to take advantage of the grace period to clear their goods.

“The items don’t have the same value? If they do not have the same value, they won’t have the same cost, and the duty won’t be the same. There is no benchmark for valuation.

“Even vehicles of the same model can’t be the same value. Even used vehicles of the same make and year can’t be the same value because of the way the vehicle was used,” he stated.

However, stakeholders attributed the growing number of overtime containers to factors such as high exchange rates and rising inflation.

The Head of Research at Sea Empowerment and Research Centre, Mr Eugene Nweke, said, “High exchange rate, high clearance cost, inadequate loan facility, poor purchasing power, these are the reasons people abandoned their imports at the ports.”