Section 12: Customs ports

(1)
The President may by order designate any area in Nigeria specified in the order to be a place of arrival or departure of ships by sea for customs purposes.
(2)
Any area designated under this section is in this Act referred to as a "customs port".
(3)
Any appointment of a port for the purposes of the customs laws in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall have effect as if it were a designation of a customs port made under this section.
(4)
Except as permitted in writing by the Board, the master of a ship entering Nigeria by sea from any place outside Nigeria shall not cause or permit the ship to call at any place therein other than a customs port, and any person importing or concerned in importing any goods by sea shall not bring the goods into Nigeria at any place other than a customs port.
(5)
Except as permitted in writing by the Board, a person shall not export or be concerned in exporting by sea any goods from any place in Nigeria other than a customs port, and the master of a ship shall not cause or permit the ship to depart on a voyage by sea to a place outside Nigeria from any place in Nigeria other than a customs port, or, whilst the ship is engaged on such a voyage, to call at any place in Nigeria other than a customs port.
(6)
Subsections (4) and (5) of this Act shall not apply in relation to a ship entering or departing from Nigeria which is compelled by accident, stress of weather or other unavoidable cause to call at a place other than a customs port, but the master of any such ship -
(a) shall immediately report the circumstances which caused the ship to call at such place to an officer or police officer and on demand produce to him the documents relating to the ship, its cargo and passengers;
(b) shall not without the consent of an officer or police officer permit any goods to be unloaded, or any of the crew or passengers to land, from the ship;
(c)
shall comply with any directions given by an officer or police officer with respect
to any such goods,
and no passenger or member of the crew shall without the consent of an officer or police officer land from the ship:
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the landing or unloading of
passengers, crew or goods from a ship where that landing or unloading is necessary for
reasons of health, safety or the preservation of life or property.
(7)
Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this section shall be liable to a fine of four hundred naira or to imprisonment for six months, or to both.