A cyberattack on the Nigeria Customs Service’s Information and Communication Technology platform has severely disrupted cargo clearance at ports nationwide.

Licensed customs agents say they are already incurring heavy demurrage charges on their consignments due to the disruption.

Confirming the incident, NCS spokesman and Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Mr. Maiwada Abdullahi, said that the cyberattack occurred some time ago but assured that the system has since been restored, according to Vanguard.

“Yes, our platform was attacked some time ago, but it has been rectified and is now fully operational. We have strengthened our systems to ensure that cybercriminals will find it much more difficult to penetrate in the future,” he said.

Abdullahi noted that talks are ongoing with relevant stakeholders on possible compensation and hinted at relief measures for importers affected by the delays caused by the system outage.

Reacting, the President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Mr. Lucky Amiwero, blamed the disruption on faults within the new B’Odogwu homegrown ICT platform promoted by the Customs.

He noted that similar glitches had occurred before the introduction of the B’Odogwu initiative.

Amiwero also criticised the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture for what he described as their passive stance on issues affecting operations at the ports.

“The government needs to overhaul the newly introduced B’Odogwu ICT platform, there are defects that needs to be corrected.

“The same defects that was experienced during the era of West Blue before Ngozi Okonjo Eweala who was the Finance Minister at that time intervened, is the same issue currently affecting the B’Odogwu system.

“The glitch has resulted to huge demurrage, huge storage charges, distortion in business plan and high cost of clearance.

“Manufacturers Association, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) are all there doing nothing. They cannot even react to the situation. All they do is to hold conferences.

“These groups ought to be at the Vanguard of protest against these anomalies rocking the port industry but they chose to keep quiet as if all is well,” he said.