Court Nullifies Customs Forfeiture, Auction Of 19 Rice Machinery Containers

Justice Ibrahim Kala of the Federal High Court in Lagos has voided the forfeiture and auction of 19 containers of agricultural machinery belonging to Rahmaniyya Rice Limited, holding that the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) could not lawfully seize and dispose of goods already cleared and released to the importer.

Justice Kala, who made the declaration in his judgment virtually in the suit yesterday, ordered the immediate return of the containers to Rahmaniyya and also awarded N5 million in costs against the NCS Board for expenses the company incurred in prosecuting the case.

The firm filed the suit marked FHC/L/CS/2436/2025 against the NCS Board and seven other defendants.
The other defendants include the comptroller-general of the NCS; Emmanuel Oshoba, area comptroller, Apapa Area Command; Smart Akande, director of Legal Services/Legal Adviser, NCS; the managing director of APM Terminals; the managing director of Ocean Network Express; Folash Logistics Nigeria Limited; and Eversgro Food International Limited.

The dispute involved 19 40-foot containers covered by Bill of Lading No. ONEYBLRE08688500, said to contain various agricultural machinery, such as cleaning machines, sorting or grading seed machines, grain or dried pre-cleaners, RPCC3 and ACY-LC elevators, and husk-related equipment.

Rahmaniyya Rice, through its lawyers Babarimi Adeyemi, challenged the seizure, forfeiture, and subsequent auction of the consignments.

The company argued that the goods were covered by an Import Duty Exempted Certificate (IDEC) and that duties and demurrage had already been paid.

It also informed the court that Customs had released the consignments, issued exit notes, and contended that the NCS could not later seize and dispose of them without complying with the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.

The Customs authorities challenged the suit’s competence on the ground of preliminary objection, arguing that the company had failed to serve the required pre-action notice.

Justice Kala dismissed the preliminary objections and proceeded to examine the substantive claims.

In his ruling, the judge held that previous forfeiture orders could not stand because the consignments had already been cleared by Customs officers.

He found that the statutory provisions cited for condemnation and forfeiture applied only to goods that were uncleared, abandoned, prohibited, or improperly released, not to consignments that had been cleared and released.

Therefore, Justice Kala declared that ownership of the 19 containers and their contents remained with Rahmaniyya Rice Limited.

The court annulled and set aside the earlier forfeiture orders made by Justice Deinde Dipeolu on 25 August 2025, in suit No. FHC/L/MISC/891/2025, and Justice Alexander Owoeye on 16 October 2025, in suit No. FHC/L/MISC/1096/2025.

The judge also nullified the auction of the containers to the eighth defendant or any other individual or entity.

The court further issued a mandatory injunction requiring the immediate return of all 19 containers to Rahmaniyya Rice Limited from whoever currently holds them, whether by auction or otherwise.

The judge ordered that if any containers or machinery could not be traced or recovered, the NCS Board must pay Rahmaniyya Rice the monetary value of the missing equipment.

Finally, Justice Kala reaffirmed that the 19 containers and their contents, covered by the bill of lading, remained the property of Rahmaniyya Rice Limited.

The court also directed the Customs authorities to cover the legal costs and awarded N5 million in favour of the plaintiff.

Justice Kala explained that the award was justified because the plaintiff had successfully prosecuted the claim and deserved indemnity for expenses incurred due to the proceedings.

“Cost follows the event,” he said, stating that the plaintiff had been unnecessarily compelled to initiate proceedings and incur expenses.

The court ordered the N5 million costs against the Nigerian Customs Service Board, which the judge described as responsible for “the whole mess.”