The Nigeria Customs Service has said it is not deterred by the court case instituted against it by the National Association of Nigerian Auctioneers over the legality of the e-auction it introduced in July 2017 just as it said it places priority on national security over trade facilitation.
Making this assertion yesterday in Lagos, National Public Relations Officer of the Service, Deputy Comptroller Joseph Attah said on the e-auction platform launched in July 2017, a number of 5,454 persons had registered while 4,865 actually bided and 646 emerged winners with N272,115,366 generated as revenue to the government.
According to him, “the introduction of the e-auction process was based on the need to eliminate abuses associated with manual process of the past. This is to ensure maximum revenue from the process while still providing equally opportunity to all interested Nigerians to log on to the e-auction portal and bid for any items they wish.”
On the case, Attah said the Service is not moved by action of the auctioneers, saying such action is not new and the auctioneers needed to be educated on the power of the Service, adding that a faction of the group had dissociated themselves from the court case.
Attah said the so-called auctioneers were legalized to auction unserviceable government property not seized cargo or items by the Customs.
According to Attah, “we are doing what is legal and we are producing good result for the nation.
“As an agency governed by law, management and disposal of seized or overtime items are strictly in line with the extant laws.
“NCS will continue to be careful in handling goods at its warehouses so as not to be dragged into unnecessary litigation by claimants as a result of illegal disposal.”
The auctioneers had gone to court to stop what it called impunity on path of the Service in taking over their job with a belief that they are the one empowered by the law to carry out auction in the country.
Meanwhile Attah further disclosed that the Service would not mind flouting trade facilitation in the interest of national security.
He equally said that the issue of multiple alerts being received by customs agents would continue as long as some stakeholders in cargo clearance do not desist from sharp practices to circumvent the cargo clearance procedures.
The Customs National Spokesman maintained that national security comes first before trade facilitation which could be jettisoned by the Service so as to save the nation from danger, citing the two cases of seized pump riffles that were illegally imported through Tincan Island Ports Lagos in 2017 by the Service.
According to him, “we cannot sacrifice national security on the altar of trade facilitation; we ensure that cargo is cleared fast; collapsed our multiple checkpoints to sizable ones, and clearance procedures shortened.”
While speaking on the successes of the Service in 2017, Attah said the stringent measures put in place by the management of the Service made it possible to collect the unprecedented sum of N1,012,259,006.779.74 in its over one hundred years of history. “What makes us celebrate the trillion figure revenue generated is the stringent measures put in place by the Comptroller General of Customs Col. Hammed Ali (rtd) despite many items dropped from import list. We look forward to sustain this.
‘It will be recalled that with five more working days to the end of 2017, NCS announced collection of the N1,012,259,006.779.74 revenue as against N770,573,730,490 set target for the year.
“I am happy to announce that NCS has now collected a total sum of N1,037,102,179.400.58 at the end of the year 2017.”
Speaking on the anti-smuggling drive of the Service in the year, Attah said the reinvigorating anti-smuggling operations recorded a total of 4,492 assorted seizures with duty paid value of N12,777,321,405.74. These seizures included 2,671 pump action riffles, dangerous/illicit drugs, vehicles and rice as 207 suspects were arrested in connection with the seized items.
Attah lamented that the Service faced a lot of challenges in the course of making the seizures adding that the the agency derives its power under the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) to enter any market or warehouse to seize any goods that flout the rules.
“Experiences in 2017 showed that seizures and their arrangement remained the most challenging because seizure does not deprive the smuggler ownership, it is capable of sending the smuggler to jail. The fear of these possibilities leads to resistance,” said Attah, noting that the resistance comes in various ways including mobilizing of hoodlums to block the road and attack operatives, inducing border community dwellers to provide shelter for them, and using dangerous weapons resulting to injuries and even death.
According to him, six officers of the Service died on duty in the process of enforcing the laws.