Customs denies secret auction of seized containers

The Nigeria Customs Service has denied allegations that it secretly auctioned seized containers and vehicles to cronies and connected individuals without following due process.

This follows a series of internal documents obtained by our correspondent on Thursday showing a “Direct Auction Allocation of Containers” signed by a senior Customs official, H. H. Hadison, Comptroller, Special Duties, between April and July 2025.

The letters, bearing the seal of the Nigeria Customs Service Committee on Direct Disposal of General Goods, were issued to multiple private companies approving the allocation of 40-foot containers containing vehicles, prefabricated houses, construction slabs, tiles, hospital equipment, and cartons of goods at auction fees ranging from N1m to N2m.

A review of at least five separate letters obtained by The PUNCH suggests a pattern of manual approvals allegedly linked to insiders within the agency.

Each letter followed a similar format, bearing the same signatory, H. H. Hadison, fwc, psc(+), Comptroller, Special Duties, and carried Customs’ letterhead and watermark marked “RESTRICTED.”

One of the letters, dated 31 July 2025 and addressed to a company with the code MSMU8098517, approved the release of four containers reportedly containing luxury vehicles, including Lexus RX330s, Lexus ES330s, and a Toyota Highlander, at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos. The vehicles were auctioned at a combined fee of N2m.

One of the letters titled Direct Auction Allocation of Containers read in part: “I am directed to inform you that the Comptroller-General of Customs has allocated the listed containers to your company. This approval is in line with the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, Section 119, via direct auction sale. The containers shall be released to the beneficiary subject to the following conditions, which are designed to ensure transparency and integrity throughout this direct auction allocation process.

“Evidence of payment of the auction fee and 7.5 per cent VAT of the auction fee, all to be made at any duty-collecting bank. You are to pay the following charges in addition to the above: Payment of 25 per cent of the auction fee, being terminal charges. Payment of 25 per cent of the auction fee, including shipping charges.

“You are to provide evidence of payment within five working days upon receipt of this auction allocation letter; otherwise, the allocation will be forfeited. All containers disposed of must be evacuated from the premises within ten working days after payment or face forfeiture.

“Any allocation letter transferred or sold by the allottee to a third party shall be at the buyer’s risk. Please accept the assurances of the highest esteem and regard of the Comptroller-General of Customs.”

Stakeholders and auctioneers say the identical wording, recurring signature, and repeated format across several letters have raised questions about possible insider involvement in unauthorised disposals of seized goods, in violation of the Service’s auction procedure, which mandates public listing and bidding.

Legal frameworks governing the disposal of seized, forfeited, or overtime goods require transparent processes. Under the Customs and Excise Management Act and the 2023 Nigeria Customs Service Act, auctioning of seized or overtime goods must be conducted through public notice or the e-auction platform, not by private allocation letters.

Commenting, the President of the Association of Licensed Auctioneers of Nigeria, Musa Kurra, accused the Nigeria Customs Service of engaging in widespread impunity and violating extant laws in its handling of seized goods and containers.

Kurra expressed concern over what he described as “the reckless disregard for due process” by Customs officers in conducting direct allocations of seized items to politically connected companies and individuals.

He said the recurring pattern of N2m per container suggests a fixed-fee arrangement inconsistent with the valuation process typically applied during legitimate auctions.

“I don’t know why people choose not to respect the law anymore. The impunity with which the Service is carrying out things now is better imagined,” Kurra said. “I don’t understand what kind of country we are becoming.”

He explained that the Bureau of Public Procurement, established by law as the regulatory body overseeing procurement matters, also has oversight responsibility in auction processes since auctions involve public assets and financial transactions.

But reacting to the allegations, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Customs Service, Ahmed Maiwada, dismissed the claims as baseless and misleading.

“What type of auctions are they referring to?” Maiwada queried. “You only need an auctioneer when you want to auction items that were budgeted for and have fulfilled their lifespan—for instance, vehicles that have been used for five years and are no longer serviceable. In that case, you have to invite an auctioneer.”

He explained that seized or forfeited items do not fall under the category requiring the involvement of external auctioneers, adding that such disposals are conducted strictly within the confines of the Nigeria Customs Service Act.

Maiwada added that the process of disposing of overtime cargo is aimed at decongesting ports, not generating revenue. “The essence of disposing of goods on overtime after they have passed their due period in the port is to decongest the port. It is not for revenue. We lose more money if we auction items,” he said.

According to him, all auction processes follow due procedure, whether through direct requests or electronic means. “There are criteria for valuation, which are followed, and the request can be done through direct request or electronic auction,” he said.

On the allegations of favouritism and secret allocations, he said, “The issue of cronies or whatever they are saying, it is left for them to provide evidence of that. I am not aware of such claims.” (Punch)