The Court of Appeal in Kaduna has ruled that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) lacked the power to seize imported rice in open markets.
A three-member panel of justices, led by Ntong Ntong, made the ruling while dismissing an appeal by the NCS against the judgment of the Federal High Court, Kaduna.
In its judgment delivered on December 6, and reported by The Cable on Friday, December 20, the appellate court ordered the release of 613 bags of foreign rice, alongside 80 bags of millet worth about N200 million and a truck impounded from the respondent in the appeal, Suleiman Mohammed, a 37-year-old businessman.
This decision followed a legal battle that began in 2019, when Customs officers intercepted Mohammed’s truck on the Kaduna-Zaria Expressway, arrested him and confiscated his goods.
Mohammed was later arraigned on a two-count charge for allegedly importing foreign rice in violation of the Federal Government’s directives.
In November 2021, Z.B. Abubakar, a justice of the Federal High Court, Kaduna, acquitted Mohammed, citing insufficient evidence.
(ICIR)
