95% Of Second-hand Vehicles Imported Into Nigeria Are Accidented Vehicles – Report

95% of second-hand vehicles (Tokunbo) imported into Nigeria are accidented vehicles – Report.

Accidented cars are badly damaged vehicles adjudged to be irreparable by insurance companies.

For a vehicle to earn the ‘accidented’ tag, it must have been badly damaged or involved in an accident.

Some are unsafe to drive as they would have lost some of their safety features, including airbags, during the crash.

A large number of fairly used cars, popularly known as Tokunbo, that are shipped into Nigeria are accidented vehicles, according to Frank Obiekezie, a Lagos-based clearing agent.

Accidented cars, also known as salvaged cars, are badly damaged vehicles adjudged to be irreparable by insurance companies in many developed economies, including the US and Canada.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of second-hand cars are shipped into Nigeria by car importers from countries like the United States, Italy, Canada, Belgium and Germany.

While speaking with SHIPS & PORTS at the Tin Can Island Port, Obiekezie said ninety-five per cent (95%) of Tokunbo cars imported into Nigeria are accidented vehicles.

He noted that brand new vehicles are not within the reach of most Nigerians due to the economic crunch and high import duties imposed in imports by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

“Ninety-five per cent of vehicles imported into Nigeria are accidented vehicles. We’ve told them for a long time that we should emulate Ghana. In Ghana, when you bring in new vehicles, you pay lesser duties than when you bring in old vehicles.

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Obiekezie, who is the National Secretary of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (AREFFN), further explained that :

“When you give people such leverage, they would definitely go for new vehicles. And most of the accidented vehicles do not have airbags and that is why whenever they have an accident, it is always fatal. When they are brought, mechanics would just repair them and as i have said, some of them don’t even have airbags.

“The only set of people who can afford new cars in Nigeria are politicians or oil and gas company workers,” Obiekezie added.

For a vehicle to earn the ‘accidented’ tag, it must have been badly damaged or involved in an accident. Some are unsafe to drive as they would have lost most of their safety features, including airbags, during the crash.

Last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that used cars valued at N824.58 billion were imported into the country in one year from second quarter of 2020 to first quarter of 2021.

According to NBS data, used vehicles valued at N198.4 billion was imported into the country in the second quarter of 2020 while Tokunbo worth N210.05 billion came in in the third quarter of 2020.

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