haraReporters has learned that the Nigerian Senate’s current war against the leadership of the Nigerian Customs Service has its roots in the fact that Customs officials seized a bulletproof Range Rover Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) owned by Senate President Bukola Saraki.

Our investigators discovered that Nigerian Customs officers in Lagos had on January 11, 2017 intercepted and impounded a Range Rover SUV which carried documents that claimed its chassis number was “SALGV3TF3EA190243.” Customs sources told our correspondent that the value of the car was N298 million, which meant that customs duty of N74 million should have been paid on the car.

At the interception of the car, its driver claimed that the vehicle belonged to the Senate President and presented a letter from the National Assembly liaison office in Lagos, indicating that the driver of the luxury vehicle was authorized to drive the Senate President’s official Range Rover bulletproof car.

Our sources disclosed that when asked to show evidence of duty payment and an end-user certificate from the office of the National Security Adviser—a document required for bulletproof vehicles—the driver presented documents that were found to be fake. The reportedly fake documents provided by the driver indicated that a measly customs duty of N8 million was paid on the car. Customs officials said that, apart from the fact the customs duty was extremely low, they also determined that the presented document itself was fake. They consequently seized the vehicle.

Later the same day, January 17, 2017, the Senate sent a letter signed by one Architect O.A. Ojo acting as the Secretary of Procurement, Estate and Works of the national Assembly, requesting the release of the vehicle, which he claimed belonged to the convoy of the Senate President. In its response, the Nigerian Customs sent a letter signed by its Othman, A.S. Comptroller, Import and Export, the letter dated January 24 2017, again requested for the end user certificate as well as evidence of proper clearance before the vehicle could be released. Neither Mr. Saraki nor the National Assembly provided the required documents.

Investigations by SaharaReporters showed that the documents used by Mr. Saraki and the National Assembly to clear the car impounded by the Nigerian Customs did not belong to the vehicle. In addition, Senator Saraki and the National Assembly apparently undervalued the car by more than 50% to enable them to avoid paying proper customs duty. When our investigators checked on the website of Range Rover, they discovered that the vehicle whose paperwork was being used to drive the impounded car from Lagos to Abuja was a grey-colored car manufactured in the UK in 2014. The price tag on that car was $142,000, but the importer gave the value as $64,516. The exchange rate at the time of car importation was N155 to $1.

Shortly after the seizure of the car, the Nigerian Senate mounted a vigorous attack on the Nigerian Customs Service, demanding that the agency stops any further efforts to confiscate vehicles found to have evaded payment of duties. The senators also summoned the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, to appear before the Senate. In the letter of invitation, the senators specified that Mr. Ali, a retired Army Colonel, must wear the official Customs uniform when he appeared before them. Mr. Ali has so far refused to heed the order to wear the Customs uniform.

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I already know there is something behind all this noise from d senate. They are all thieves.


And as for Saraki, ur cup will soon be full.

DrPlato:
I already know there is something behind all this noise from d senate. They are all thieves.


And as for Saraki, ur cup will soon be full.

All these are rubbish.

Senate says that custom should not ask nigerians of the custom papers of cars that are even 30 years in use.

Customs want to begin to seize any car in nigeria that has no customs papers even the ones that are more than 50 years. The question is where were they when those cars were brought in?

Rubbish news.

How much are the papers that neither Saraki nor the NASS cannot afford?

No wonder Ali has no respect for them. He knows they are crooks.

When the Senate are encouraged or evade tax? And they knowing fully well that the government in which they were beneficiary to are runs on / surviving tax incomes..Who ever wrote the letter to the custom, the letter, needed to be investigated. We need scapegoat without minding who gut is been broke..

jusRadical:
Rubbish news.

How much are the papers that neither Saraki nor the NASS cannot afford?

Most f these people are tax invaders..

Jabioro:
Most f these people are tax invaders..

But why do they have to bring it up now? Remember the reason why the senate invited the custom boss. Let us not mix issues up.

jusRadical:



But why do they have to bring it up now? Remember the reason why the senate invited the custom boss. Let us not mix issues up.

They were on vendetta mission