The courier regulatory department (CRD) of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), at the weekend, revoked the courier operational licences of Aero Contractors and 13 other courier companies for non-renewal of their licences.

The CRD also clamped down on six other courier operators in Lagos and Ilorin in Kwara State, for operating courier business without obtaining operational licences, thereby defrauding government of huge sums of money.

Announcing the revocation order shortly after the clampdown at the weekend in Lagos, Senior Assistant Postmaster General and Head of CRD, Dr. Simon Emeje explained that the licences of the 14 courier operating companies were revoked, following their refusal to renew their licences for up to a period of five to five years running, unperturbed.

He listed 13 others whose licences were revoked to include Abia Line Courier, Akro Express, AMDS Nigeria Limited, Arrowhead Courier Limited, Askol Nigeria Limited, Base Aviation Systems, and Ben Courier. Others are Best Courier, Beta Courier Services Limited, Bright Eminent Express Limited, Bruno Courier Services, Cenok Express and Global Express. "The 14 courier operators hereby seize to operate courier business in the country because of their involvement in unethical practice, which the regulatory body frowns to. The General public should take note of this and desist from doing courier business with the listed companies in the country," Emeje said.

He explained that customers who still do business after the revocation order, stands a big risk, as the operators could be visited at any time by the CRD surveillance team, who will confiscate all items found in their offices, and proceed to prosecute the operators, if found operating behind sealed doors.

According to him, renewal of licence fee is once yearly and it costs N350, 000 to renew licences of indigenous local courier operators, N500, 000 for indigenous/international courier operators and N1.5 million for foreign international courier operators. "By law, courier operators that refused to renew their licence, is as good as operating without licence and this is tantamount to unethical practice, because they know the law but refused to abide by it," Emeje said while announcing the revocation order.

He said before the raid, several letters had been sent to the firms, warning them of the implication to operate courier business without a courier licence, and advising them to register, but that they would not heed to the warning and advice. Two of the operators were clamped down in Lagos and their managers arrested by the enforcement team, while in Ilorin, Kwara State, four of them were clamped down, their offices sealed and their managers arrested. Those arrested had since been handed to the Police for further interrogation and prosecution. The courier companies that were clamped down in Lagos were Shippyme, DealDey.

Those clamped down in Ilorin were Young Legacy Line, Watmus Transport Services, Kasmag Line-9X, and Kwara State Transport Corporation.

Emeje said the six operators would seize to operate until they regularise their operational licences.

Head of the enforcement team, Mr. Andrew Ebiloma, who led the team to the clampdown in Lagos and Ilorin, said the items collected from the courier offices, were evidences that they were into courier business, yet they have refused to obtain operational licence.