NIPOST shuts courier firm, revokes licences

The Courier Regulatory Department of the Nigeria Postal Service on Tuesday said it had begun a clampdown on courier agencies operating illegally in the country.

It said the action would continue until all illegal courier outfits were shut and their owners prosecuted.

Already, the agency said that it descended on a transport company, ‘Up I Swear God’, for allegedly operating as a courier firm illegally after a tip-off from members of the public.

The Senior Assistant Postmaster-General of the Federation and Head of the CRD, Dr. Simon Emeje, said the surveillance team of the department had approached the company for clarification, “but it called the regulator’s bluff.”

He said that despite several entreaties by the regulator to the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lasisi Gbadegesi, “the company did not still yield to our call.”

Emeje said the CRD recently received a petition against the company from a customer who lost over N2m worth of goods while transacting courier business with it.

He stated, “They deceive innocent Nigerians that they are genuinely licensed to run a courier between Lagos, Nigeria and some West African countries like Benin Republic, Togo, and Cote d’Ivoire up to Senegal. Because they are not licensed, customers’ goods may be tampered with.

“We have received a letter of petition from a customer who has lost almost N2m worth of goods in this regard. This report prompted the surveillance unit to verify the company’s mode of operation and thus the eventual clampdown.

“When our surveillance team approached them, the ‘Up I Swear God’ operators boasted that since they had Customs permit, no other registration was necessary. Therefore, they carried on with their business.

“We discovered that with the way they operate, no member of the public will have evidence against them, because the receipt they offer you at the commencement of the transaction will be collected when you want to collect your parcel at the destination.”