Customs denies secret auction of seized containers

The Nigeria Customs Service has denied allegations that it secretly auctioned seized containers and vehicles to cronies and connected individuals without following due process.

This follows a series of internal documents obtained by our correspondent on Thursday showing a “Direct Auction Allocation of Containers” signed by a senior Customs official, H. H. Hadison, Comptroller, Special Duties, between April and July 2025.

The letters, bearing the seal of the Nigeria Customs Service Committee on Direct Disposal of General Goods, were issued to multiple private companies approving the allocation of 40-foot containers containing vehicles, prefabricated houses, construction slabs, tiles, hospital equipment, and cartons of goods at auction fees ranging from N1m to N2m.

A review of at least five separate letters obtained by The PUNCH suggests a pattern of manual approvals allegedly linked to insiders within the agency.

Each letter followed a similar format, bearing the same signatory, H. H. Hadison, fwc, psc(+), Comptroller, Special Duties, and carried Customs’ letterhead and watermark marked “RESTRICTED.”

One of the letters, 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.

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 five 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 ten working days after payment or face forfeiture.

“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.”

Stakeholders and auctioneers say the identical wording, recurring signature, and repeated format across several letters have raised questions about possible insider involvement in unauthorised disposals of seized goods, in violation of the Service’s auction procedure, which mandates public listing and bidding.

Legal frameworks governing the disposal of seized, forfeited, or overtime goods require transparent processes. Under the Customs and Excise Management Act and the 2023 Nigeria Customs Service Act, auctioning of seized or overtime goods must be conducted through public notice or the e-auction platform, not by private allocation letters.