The Association of Licensed Auctioneers of Nigeria (ALAN) has accused officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of violating extant laws governing the disposal of seized goods through what it described as “illegal and opaque auction practices.”
In a statement issued on Friday, the President of ALAN, Musa Kurra, alleged that some Customs officers were engaged in direct allocation of impounded containers and vehicles to politically connected individuals and companies, in clear violation of the Public Procurement Act and the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act (POCA) 2022.
Kurra’s allegations followed the emergence of leaked documents showing that the NCS allegedly issued “direct auction allocation” letters to several private firms between April and July 2025. The letters, signed by one H.H. Hadison, Comptroller, Special Duties, reportedly approved the sale of seized goods — including vehicles, prefabricated houses, construction materials, and hospital equipment — at fixed rates of between N1 million and N2 million per container.
Each allocation letter, bearing the seal of the “Customs Committee on Direct Disposal of General Goods,” instructed beneficiaries to make payments within five working days and evacuate their containers within 10 days or risk forfeiture.
One letter, dated July 31, 2025, approved the sale of four containers reportedly containing luxury vehicles — including Lexus RX330s, Lexus ES330s, and a Toyota Highlander — at Tin Can Island Port, Lagos, for a total of N2 million. Similar approvals were issued in April, May, and June for containers described as “prefabricated houses,” “used hospital equipment,” “Versace bond cement,” and “cartons of drinks.”
Kurra described the allocations as a “reckless disregard for due process,” alleging that the pattern of N2 million per container indicated a pre-determined fee arrangement inconsistent with legal valuation methods.
“The impunity with which the Service is carrying out these actions is unimaginable,” he said. “Under the law, no agency has the right to seize, value, and auction assets all by itself without external oversight.”
Kurra emphasized that both the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the POCA Act regulate the disposal of public and forfeited assets. He noted that under Section 119 of the NCS Act and relevant provisions of POCA 2022, seized items must be disposed of transparently, through public auctions supervised by qualified valuers and approved bodies.
“The POCA Act clearly provides that all confiscated or forfeited assets by law enforcement agencies must be sold through transparent public auctions. Direct allocations or private sales to individuals or companies are illegal and attract criminal sanctions,” Kurra explained.
The auctioneers’ president further alleged that Customs officials have been issuing vehicles and goods to companies linked to their associates and family members at “ridiculous prices.”
“There was a time the Service allocated 380 vehicles to one company for N3.8 million — that’s about N10,000 per vehicle, including Prados and Hiluxes. This is outright robbery,” he alleged, adding that in another instance, 53 vehicles were sold for N530,000 under similar conditions.
Kurra called on President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government to intervene urgently, warning that such unlawful practices were depriving the country of substantial non-oil revenue.
“If the government is serious about economic reform, it must stop this internal sabotage,” he said. “Customs cannot continue to be the seizing authority, the valuer, and the auctioneer — that’s a lawless setup that breeds corruption.”
He urged the National Assembly, the BPP, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the alleged auction violations and enforce compliance with the nation’s procurement and asset recovery laws.
