The Court of Appeal in Kaduna has instructed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), to refrain from seizing foreign rice in open markets.
The directive came on Wednesday following an appeal filed by Customs against a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court in Kaduna, which had acquitted and discharged one Suleiman Mohammed, who faced charges related to the importation of foreign rice.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Ntong Ntong, a three-member panel of the appellate court instructed the NCS to immediately release 613 bags of foreign rice, 80 bags of millet, and a truck, all of which had been confiscated from Suleiman Mohammed, a 37-year-old businessman. The goods, valued at approximately N200 million, were seized by Customs officers on the Kaduna-Zaria Expressway in 2019.
The Court of Appeal found that the Kaduna-Zaria Expressway does not qualify as a “land border” as defined by law, thus rejecting the Nigeria Customs Service’s claim that it had the authority to confiscate goods on that highway. The court emphasized that the NCS’s actions in arresting Suleiman Mohammed and seizing his goods outside the recognized land borders were unlawful.
Justice Ntong Ntong stated that the NCS has no legal grounds to patrol highways or expressways, including the Kaduna-Zaria Expressway, for the sole purpose of intercepting foreign rice, which falls outside the scope of its enforcement mandate. He further noted that, under the law, Customs is authorized to enforce importation bans at official land borders—not on public roads far from these designated areas.
The court also clarified that Suleiman Mohammed was not an importer of the rice but a purchaser at an open market in Gusau, Zamfara State. With a valid receipt for his purchase, Mohammed was not the individual responsible for the illegal importation of the rice, the court ruled. The justices criticized the Customs Service for failing to arrest the actual importer of the contraband goods.
Justice Ntong Ntong remarked that the Customs Service was like “a fowl, instead of attacking the person who killed it, pursuing the person who is de-feathering it.” This idiom suggested that Customs should focus on intercepting goods at the borders, rather than targeting petty traders and consumers in the open market.
The court also rebuked the NCS for conducting a “shoddy investigation,” accusing Customs officials of carrying out their duties from the comfort of their office without properly investigating the source of the confiscated goods. The justices pointed out that if returning the confiscated rice, millet, and truck was not possible, the NCS Board should compensate Suleiman Mohammed by paying an amount equivalent to the current value of the seized goods.
In conclusion, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal filed by the Nigeria Customs Service and ordered the immediate release of the goods and vehicle. The NCS was also directed to comply with the court’s ruling without delay.