The
Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command of Nigerian Customs Service
(NCS) has seized two civil models Bell Helicopters brought into the country by
unknown importers.
The
Service immediately handed over the helicopters to the Nigerian Air Force for
use in the fight against insurgency.
The
NCS accused the importers of the said items of failure to produce the end user
certificate from the office of the National Security Adviser ( NSA), thus
contravening Section 36 (2) of the Customs and Excise Management Act.
Addressing
newsmen at the command’s office at the Lagos Airport yesterday, the Customs
Area Controller, Frank Allanah, said the duty value of the two helicopters and
other accessories was about N9,757,135,240.86.
He
said the helicopters were flown into the country as a consignment with
Airway Bill Number 17232444403 through the Murtala Muhammed International
Airport.
The
choppers, he said, were detained at the Skyways Aviation Handling Company
Limited (SAHCOL) shed, pending the fulfillment of all the legal requirements
for the importation .
He
said upon examination, the consignment was found to contain two civil models
412 EP of serial numbers 36608 and 36606 Bell Helicopters respectively in
standard configuration and 23 packages said to contain their accessories
weighing 11,075 kilogrammes.
Ugo
said: “The unknown importer could not produce end user certificate from the
office of the National Security Adviser (NSA); an act which contravenes section
36 sub section 2 of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) laws of the
federation of Nigeria 2004.
“Consequently,
seizure was effected on November 7, 2016 in line with section 46 of CEMA.”
Giving
further insight into the seized choppers, he said all legal issues were
considered before the Customs Authorities carried out the exercise.
He
said the chopper will be useful to the Nigerian Air Force in the fight against
insurgency as the chopper were specially designed for such operations.
Speaking
during the handover of the choppers, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal
Sadique Abubakar, said the two Bell choppers and accessories would be taken to
the Nigerian Air Force hangar at the Lagos Airport for full examination in
collaboration with Customs officials.
He
described the handover as a milestone, because the configuration of the
aircraft is fitted for military combat operations.
He
said the presidential approval for the release of the two helicopters to the
Nigerian Air Force would help to fight the war against insurgency and internal
security engagement.
Investigations
however revealed that the two Bell Helicopters were imported by a state
government in the South South in the twilight of a former administration in the
state.
But
industry sources hinted that the transactions might not have been documented,
forcing the current administration in the state to concede that the choppers be
handed over to the Nigerian Air Force.
In
a telephone interview, an official of SAHCOL said he could not confirm if the
choppers were imported by a state government.
He
said Customs reserves the right to seize any aircraft or imported item if the
importer fails to show up for clearance and payment of necessary duty.
Ugo
also disclosed yesterday that revenue totaling N55,505,499,945.35 was collected
from January to December 2016 by “a highly dedicated work force” of the Customs
Airport Command, surpassing the collection of 2015 which stood at
N24,746,642,881.3 billion.
The
increase in revenue collection, he said, is N12.8 billion above the previous
year despite decline in cargo from 76.9 million tons in 2015 to 64.63 million
tons in 2016.
The
command, he said, made several seizures of elephant tusks, foreign currencies
and other items.
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