…urges FG to regulate activities
The Association of Licensed Auctioneers of Nigeria has raised the alarm of ongoing illegal disposal of seized goods and containers by the Nigeria Customs Service.
The President of the Association of Licensed Auctioneers of Nigeria, Musa Kurra, who raised the alarm alleged that due process is not being followed in the process.
Kura alleged that most of the seized items were being allocated to politically connected companies and individuals.
He said the process contradicted the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, which clearly outlines how confiscated or forfeited assets should be managed and disposed of by any law enforcement agency.
The Auctioneers association boss cited a series of letters of allocation and sales of impounded containers issued by the service.
The leaked allocation letters cited by our Correspondent bear the seal Committee on Direct Disposal of General Goods and were signed by HH Hadison, Comptroller, Special Duties, between April and July 2025.
The letters titled, ‘Direct Auction Allocation of Containers’ were issued to multiple private companies.
The letters showed that the allocations were carried out manually and they followed a similar format, with the same signatory, HH Hadison, fwc, psc(+), Comptroller, Special Duties, and written on the Customs’ letterhead and watermark with the “RESTRICTED” mark.
According to the leaked documents, 40-foot containers containing vehicles, prefabricated houses, construction slabs, tiles, hospital equipment, and cartons of goods, were allocated at auction fees ranging from N1m to N2m.
Two letters dated 11 and 17 April 2025, respectively, allocated several containers containing “used hospital equipment,” “cartons of drinks,” “Versace bond cement,” “pallets of tiles,” and “packages of steel,” to unnamed companies, also for N1m to N2m each.
Beneficiaries were directed to make payments within five working days and evacuate the containers within 10 working days or risk forfeiture.
The letters also warned that allocations “transferred or sold to third parties shall be at the buyer’s risk.”
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 5 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 10 working days after payment or time forfeiture. Furthermore, you are to note the following caveats; Applications for the replacement of allocated containers would not be entertained.
“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.”
Another letter, 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.
Another document dated 15 June 2025 approved the disposal of a container marked TCKU0400440, described as a “prefabricated house,” at N2m, while a separate letter from May 2025 allocated a container of “construction slabs” under similar conditions.
Speaking on the unfolding practice, Kurra
said N2m per container suggests a fixed-fee arrangement, which is inconsistent with the valuation process typically applied during legitimate auctions.
He explained that the Bureau of Public Procurement, which was 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.
He said: “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.
“I don’t understand what kind of country we are.
“You see, there is an agency called the Bureau for Public Procurement. The BPP happens to be the regulatory body in charge of anything that has to do with procurement. An auction has to do with procurement,” he said. “BPP’s Act was promulgated by the National Assembly and assented to by the President.”
Kurra also pointed out that the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, clearly outlines how confiscated or forfeited assets should be managed and disposed of by any law enforcement agency.
The Act, according to him prohibits direct allocation or sale of seized items to individuals or organisations outside approved channels, with violations attracting criminal sanctions.
He said: “Under the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022, all forfeited or seized assets by law enforcement agencies, including Customs, are to be disposed of through transparent processes, either by public auction or sale, supervised by the relevant oversight bodies.
“The POCA Act takes care of everything that concerns dealing with forfeited items. Anything that is a proceeds of crime must be valued by a qualified valuer before auctioneers are invited to sell the property,” he explained. “But Customs has been flouting these provisions without remorse.”
He therefore noted that the “direct auction allocations” being carried out by the Nigeria Customs Service are illegal and not backed by any law.
“If they follow due process, we don’t have issues with them,” he said. “But when they flagrantly abuse powers that don’t belong to them, that’s where the problem lies. There is no law anywhere in this country that gives them the right to do what they are doing.”
Kurra alleged that Customs officers have been allocating seized cars and containers at ridiculous prices to cronies and companies linked to senior officials.
“What is happening is that Customs officers are issuing cars and seizing items at lower amounts without any publicised auctioning,” he said. “There was a time the Service allocated 380 vehicles to one company for N3.8 million. Among those vehicles were Prados, Hiluxes, and Benzes, each going for N10,000. This is robbery.”
He also cited another instance where 53 vehicles were allegedly allocated to a single company for N530,000, translating to about N10,000 per vehicle.
“Even a bicycle now cannot sell for N10,000, not to talk of a Prado or a Hilux,” Kurra said. “When we traced some of these deals, we discovered that the companies involved belong to Customs officers and their families.”
Kurra faulted the current situation where the Customs, “they seize, they value, they auction, all by themselves.”
“ So, who is regulating them? Nobody,” he lamented.
“There is a law guiding these things, but they ignore it. It’s time the government steps in to restore sanity,” he added.
He therefore called on the Federal Government to urgently intervene, warning that unchecked corruption and illegality within the Customs Service are denying Nigeria significant revenue.
“If the government is serious, they need to checkmate these people. “The president needs money to work for the people, but instead of generating it lawfully through Customs and other agencies, some individuals are enriching themselves.”
