By Godwin Oritse
The Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN) has raised concerns over the persistent incidence of
stowaways at Nigerian port berths, revealing that vessels recorded about 2,300 security infractions in 2025.
However, the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, has dismissed the association’s figures, stating that the numbers were not accurate.
Speaking to newsmen in Lagos, the association’s chairman, Boma Alabi, SAN, lamented that despite payments made to government agencies responsible for safeguarding vessels at berth, criminal elements still manage to gain unauthorized access to ships.
Alabi also said that about 15 foreign shipping lines currently operate in Nigeria, and each records two to three stowaway incidents every week a trend she described as “deeply troubling.”
According to her, despite the sanctions imposed on shipping companies, they are also compelled to bear the cost of repatriating the stowaways.
She said:”Stowaway is another major issue shipping companies are grappling with right now. The policy for sanctioning shipping companies has to change because they are not at fault in any case of stowaway.
“We have two or three stowaways every week, and about 15 shipping companies are operating in Nigeria. Each arrested stowaway attracts a $2,000 sanction, paid by the shipping firm.
“Immigration collects the sanctions for stowaways, yet we still pay government agencies in dollars for the protection and safety of these vessels, since the government has dollarized the Nigerian maritime industry.
“We have agencies working in the ports, and they must be efficient in what they do, because whatever happens in the maritime industry affects every one of us.”
Reacting to the association’s claims, Ikechukwu Igunna, a Port Security Officer with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), argued that the figures being circulated may not be accurate, noting that Apapa Port alone had recorded only about 10 stowaway cases this year.
Igunna, however, advised our correspondent to consult the website of the International Maritime Bureau for verified stowaway data.
In his comments, Mr. Akinola Akinlabi, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, countered the figures by the association saying that “what we have is not near that number”
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