The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has expressed worries over the continuous detention of 13 dockworkers by the agents of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) without trial.
President General, MWUN, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, in a statement, said the union would no longer fold its arms and watch an unending arrest, intimidation and detention of its members by the NDLEA.
He called on the NDLEA to immediately release the detained workers or charge them to court.
Adeyanju said he was particularly disturbed that those arrested had also been kept incommunicado from their families and union for over two weeks without trial.
He said that the workers were arrested whilst on duty onboard MV Cha Yaree Naree which berthed at the Green View Development Nigeria United Terminal on which narcotics were said to be found.
The President General, however, said there was no information that the drugs were found on the workers.
The statement clarified that while the union totally supports all security agencies honestly doing their job, it must also be stressed that every Nigerian security agency must be law-abiding.
“The union was informed of the arrest and detention of 13 dockworkers and crew by the NDLEA since the 13th of October, 2021.
“Surprisingly, the poor workers who were neither the ship agent nor the consignee of the vessel were arrested and kept incarcerated by the NDLEA since October 13th, 2021 till date, without being released or charged to court as would have been done In line with the tenet of the Rule of Law.
“Similarly, the union is also informed that on Sunday, 7th of November, 2021, another four (4) dockworkers who were on duty onboard MV Kartena were arrested by the NDLEA operatives for a bag said to have been found in the vessel, but the content of was not disclosed.
“Again, this bag that is found with undisclosed content was not found on any of the innocent workers arrested and kept in detention for days without being released and charged to court.
“Their cell phones were also said to have been seized by the NDLEA operatives.
“Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria is worried as its members seem to be targeted for arrest, whist the shipping agent and the consignee who are in possession of the ship manifest are not even interrogated let alone arrested.
“Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria is not in any way in support of either the importation or peddling of hard drugs into the country but frowns at the continued harassment, intimidation, arrest and detention of our members who have been kept incommunicado for over two weeks without being released or charged to court.
“This is not in tandem with global best practices”, Adeyanju said.

By: Chinedu Wosu