Return seized food items to owners, Tinubu directs Nigerian Customs

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to return food items that were confiscated at border communities to their owners on the condition that they would be sold in the Nigerian markets to boost food sufficiency.

This was disclosed Saturday by the Comptroller General of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, during an interface with residents of border communities in Kongolam and Mai’Adua border stations of Katsina state..

Mr Adeniyi hinted that the president has decided to exercise his power “according to the feelings of magnanimity that he has for Nigeria”, contrary to what the law stipulates.

“In doing so, he has directed that those food items that were going out of the country that have been seized in various border areas should be returned to the owners on the condition that those goods would be sold in the Nigerian markets,” the official said.

He said that they will be monitoring the situation to know if there is a violation of this condition.

“Those food items will be returned, and it is a directive that we will pass them back into the Nigerian markets,” Mr Adeniyi said.

He explained that Nigeria is in an emergency food situation and that the NCS will continue to take proactive measures to tackle the exportation of food items to curb food insufficiency.

The consolidated version of Nigeria’s Export Prohibition Act prohibits the exportation of certain goods (food commodities) specified in the Schedule to the Act, likewise, anything contained in the Customs Excise Tariff Act or any Act or other enactment notwithstanding.

The scheduled goods under the act include beans, cassava tuber, maize,rice, Yam tuber, all products or derivatives of these products, and all imported food items.

“Any person who takes, causes to be taken, induces any other person to take or attempts to take out of Nigeria any of the goods specified in the Schedule to this Act shall be guilty of an offence,” the act partly reads.

Some officials of the NCS were recently arrested by the anti-graft6 agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for colluding with mugglers to facilitate their illicit trade.