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THE Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions is set for a collision course with the Colonel Hameed Ali (retd)-led Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) over the stance of the revenue-generating agency to rebuff the committee resolution asking it to return bags of rice seized from the Oja Oba market in Oyo State.
The Senate committee led by Senator Ayo Akinyelure after a meeting last week with the aggrieved market women and officers of the NCS led by Assistant Comptroller General, Garba Mohammed urged him to ensure that the seized goods were returned to the affected traders within two weeks, their shops unlocked while money taken from the shops be equally returned.
Probe Customs boss, senator tells Buhari - Punch Newspapers punchng.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from punchng.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Eromosele Abiodun
The Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges have directed the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col Hameed Ali (rtd.) to ensure that officers of the service return bags of rice and money seized from shops in popular Oja Oba market in Ibadan, during a raid.
This followed a petition by Senator Kola Balogun who represents Oyo South Senatorial District complaining of the seizures.
The petition according to Senator Balogun was on behalf of the affected traders who said their shops were raided during which bags of rice and money were collected.
Following the petition, the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, had referred the matter to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to carry out an investigation on the allegation of looting by the Customs.
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ON Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges decried last week’s invasion of the popular Oja Oba market in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, by officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), during which they allegedly carted away eight truckloads of rice and money found in the shops of the affected traders. It consequently handed down a two-week ultimatum to the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Hameed Ali, to return the seized goods to the affected traders, unlock their shops, and return the money taken from the shops. According to the lawmakers, the invasion was in breach of the Customs Act and the Executive Order signed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007, which empowers the agency to only impound smuggled goods within 40 kilometres radius to the border. They pointed out that a similar sting operation carried out by the NCS in Katsina State led to the dismissal of the officer who led the operation while the confiscated goods were returned to t
Senate asks Customs to return rice, cash seized in Ibadan markets punchng.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from punchng.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.