HENRY OJELU FROM VANGUARD
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has declared the 2019 raid and sealing of over 434 car marts in Lagos by the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, for alleged smuggling and under- assessment during clearance at the ports, as illegal and unlawful.
Some of the affected car dealers whose marts were sealed in the September 29, 2019, under the umbrella of Registered Trustees of Auto-Mobile Dealers Friends Association, had through their lawyer Dr Monday Ubani sued the Customs and sought an order of court to declare the invasion and sealing of their marts as unlawful.
They also prayed for a restraining injunction against the Customs and damages of over N5billion insisting that all vehicles in their marts were duly cleared and duties paid at the ports after due assessment by officials of the Nigerian Customs.
The car dealers also prayed for a declaration that having been duly inspected, cleared and issued the required Customs clearance papers after payment of duly assessed customs duty, officials of the Nigerian Customs have no justification to thereafter invade their business premises, on the ground that same vehicles were smuggled or not properly assessed and cleared by the designated officers.
Delivering judgment in the matter on December 27, 2023, after five years of litigation, Justice A. O. Awogboro held that the sealing up of the car marts of the plaintiff’s members was unlawful and arbitrary, as there was no justification for the unlawful act.
The judge further held that the argument by Customs that some members of the plaintiff had complied by undertaking to make the additional payment as a result of which their car marts were unsealed, is not tenable and does not in any way justify the arbitrary action of raiding and sealing their marts.
Justice Awogboro also discarded the contention of Customs that the plaintiff’s association lacked the competence to institute the matter since it is a Registered Trustees instead of an Incorporated trustee.
Other reliefs granted by the judge, include; an order of mandatory injunction directing the Defendants to, with immediate effect, unseal the business premises of all members of the Plaintiff.
An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants…
