Companies that breach Nigeria’s port regulations could be ordered to pay as much as N20 million under the country’s new maritime regulatory regime, the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) has said.
NPERA Director-General Dr Pius Akutah announced the penalties on Wednesday during an engagement with journalists in Lagos. He said the measures were designed to strengthen compliance, improve port performance and support Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
Akutah said the NPERA Act 2026 had expanded the agency’s authority to oversee port operations, safeguard investments and raise efficiency across the maritime industry.
Under the legislation, an individual committing an offence for the first time may receive a penalty of at least N500,000. Sanctions can rise when violations are repeated, while the maximum fine for a corporate offender is N20 million. Akutah added that the agency may impose multiples of that amount if a company persists in breaching the law.
He said the new penalties were more forceful than those available under the former framework administered by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, which he argued lacked sufficient deterrent power.
Akutah said the purpose of the tougher regime was not to disrupt port activity or create disorder. Rather, it was intended to make the consequences of non-compliance clear enough that operators would follow the rules voluntarily.
