An importer, Mr Emeka Afamefuna, has petitioned the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Col. Hameed Ali (retd.) over alleged corrupt practices and extortion by some offices of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the Lagos sea port, The Nation has learnt.
The petition, it was learnt, followed a huge and un-receipted amount the officers allegedly collected from him through his clearing agent.
In a May 31 letter, exclusively obtained by The Nation, the importer accused two officers of the NCS at the PTML Customs Command in Tin-Can Island Port, Lagos, of collecting over N10 million bribe from his agent.
Afamefuna urged Col. Ali to probe the officers.
The petition letter reads: “I wish to notify you of the corrupt and extortionate practices being perpetrated by (NCS officers) and their cohorts at PTML Customs Command, Lagos.
“According to the clearing agent I engaged to clear the cars I imported from the United States of America (U.S.A), one would have to part with money, even before the Customs Duty to be paid is assessed. Anyone who refuses to play ball is slammed with a prohibitive tariff and would probably have to abandon the vehicles (or whatever other items) as it would not make economic sense to part with an amount that exceeds the face value of one’s goods.
“In my particular case, (NCS officer) collected N2,000,000 for and on behalf of herself and the corrupt gang, before a total duty of about N20,000,000 was assessed and paid into government coffers.
“Thereafter, she collected additional N8,000,000 cash that was not receipted (according to my clearing agent). One week after, she again demanded N4,000,000, ostensibly for Customs Area Commander, who she claimed demanded the cash to ‘settle the ogas in Abuja’.
“Due to the hurdles erected by these egregiously corrupt characters, the process of clearing my vehicles from the port took all of 30 days! Is this the Nigerian government’s idea of ‘Ease of Doing Business’? Is it not unconscionable that these unscrupulous personnel of the NCS made me incur needless demurrage? Is it not clear that the Muhammadu Buhari administration anti-graft war has not even begun in view of what transpires at our seaports everyday?
“It is only the Nigerian government that does not know, or feigns ignorance, of the fact that officials of the NCS invest aggressively in landed property and keep their loot in foreign exchange as they cannot deposit money in bank accounts (even before the advent of BVN) lest suspicion is raised as to the source of millions (yes, millions) of naira they extort from importers like me everyday.
“Sir, even after goods have been released from the ports, Customs officials still ambush importers and demand money from them before they are allowed to proceed to their destinations. For instance, right in front of Area “B” Police Station (opposite Leventis Stores), a Toyota Hilux with the number plate of the NCS painted in the green colour of the Service, is stationed on the road under construction (constituting a nuisance to other road users by disrupting traffic flow), for the sole purpose of extorting money from owners of goods that have been cleared from the seaports and are exiting Apapa.
“It is also not uncommon for the officer to get to work after mid-day! There are days that work is capriciously grounded because Customs officers are in celebration mode. An example was when the subject was recently promoted and refused to do any work for one whole day with importers bearing the brunt of her irresponsible behaviour by incurring extra demurrage charges.
“No work was done at PTML either, on the day the officer resumed duty! This is not to mention occasions when Customs officials claim they are experiencing network issues and, therefore, fail to process importers’ papers.
“Posterity will judge us harshly if we fail to rein in the bribe-taking and extortionate appetite of men and women of the NCS (provided you are not one of the “Abuja ogas” they claim to send money to every Friday).
“What obtains at all our seaports nationwide (but particularly in Lagos) is the grandest form of graft and corruption being perpetrated by Customs officers. And, for your information, sir, a good number of NCS officials also double as clearing agents in patent breach of the code of conduct for public officers.
“Is it not unfortunate that this state of affairs is worsening considerably under an administration that is posturing to be waging a war against the twin vices of graft and corruption?
“Lest we turn to those you preposterously characterised as ‘lazy Nigerians, please’, use your good offices to bring about a change of attitude in Customs formations around the country as the situation I have described above is being replicated nation-wide.”
But NCS spokesman Muhammed Yakubu urged the importer to provide the ‘C’ number of the affected vehicles so that they would trace their history, know those involved in the release and conduct thorough investigation that will reveal the scam, if there was any.
“We need to know the type of vehicles the petitioner is talking about, the amount that was paid by his agent and when the vehicles were released from the port so that the command can pin down those who collected the alleged bribe from them,” Yakubu said.
Another senior officer of the command, who spoke in confidence, advised the importer and his clearing agent to tender the papers on the importation of the vehicles and the total amount the importer paid as duty.
“Anybody can write a petition against anybody. But the fact remains that the petitioner must be able to substantiate his allegation with enough facts.
“Before a man could be asked to pay N2 million with additional N8 million and he agreed to pay, something tells us that something must be wrong somewhere. This is because the amount we are referring to is not small money; it is not the money we use to buy biscuits. This is a big amount of money. We would like to investigate if the petitioner can provide us with the ‘C’ number of his vehicles,” the officer said.
A clearing agent, Mr Segun Adesanmi, said the Association of the Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) was aware of the problems its members were facing at the command.
The agent urged Col. Ali to address the problem.
“Many of us have the same experience with some scrupulous officers of the command.
“With the current allegation against the officers of the command, we have no iota of doubt that the anti-corruption crusade of Col. Ali is facing a big litmus test.
“Importers, clearing agents and other stakeholders are waiting to see what Ali will do to those who committed the crime,” he said.
Will officers involved be sacked or prosecuted, as promised by Ali, to boost the anti-corruption campaign of the Federal Government and deter others? This is the question industry watchers want the CGC to answer in the next few weeks.
Investigation revealed that some of the vehicles were brand new, the duty paid and the amount collected as bribe may put the officers in trouble if the CGC re-open the file of his anti-corruption crusade. (The Nation)
