Auctioneers association alleges secret auctions by Nigeria Customs Service
The Association of Licensed Auctioneers of Nigeria has accused the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, of violating extant laws in the disposal of seized goods and containers.
President of the Association of Licensed Auctioneers of Nigeria, Musa Kurra, made the allegation while reacting to leaked documents which exposed direct allocation and sales of impounded containers to some firms by the NCS.
The allocation letters titled ‘Direct Auction Allocation of Containers’ were issued between April and July 2025. It was discovered that the letters which bear the seal of the Nigeria Customs Service Committee on Direct Disposal of General Goods, were issued to multiple private companies to convey approval of the allocation of 40-foot containers containing vehicles, prefabricated houses, construction slabs, tiles, hospital equipment and cartons of goods at auction fees ranging from N1 million to N2 million.
The alleged secret auctions were linked to insiders within the agency as each letter followed a similar format, bearing the same signatory and written on the Customs’ letterhead and watermarked “RESTRICTED”.
One of the letters, dated 31 July 2025 and addressed to a company with the code MSMU8098517, approved the release of four containers at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos, reportedly containing luxury vehicles including Lexus RX330s, Lexus ES330s, and a Toyota Highlander, all auctioned at a combined fee of N2 million.
Also, a letter dated 15 June 2025 approved the disposal of a container marked TCKU0400440, described as a “prefabricated house,” at N2 million, while another letter from May 2025 allocated a container of “construction slabs” at the same amount.
Two other letters, dated 11 and 17 April 2025, respectively, allocated several containers bearing used hospital equipment, cartons of drinks, Versace bond cement, pallets of tiles and packages of steel to unnamed companies for sums ranging from N1 million to N2 million, each.
The beneficiaries were directed to make payments within five working days and evacuate the containers within 10 working days or risk forfeiture. The beneficiaries were also warned that allocations transferred or sold to third parties shall be at the buyer’s risk.
Specifically, one of the letters titled ‘Direct auction allocation of containers’ read: “I am directed to inform you that the Comptroller-General of Customs has allocated the listed containers to your company. This approval is in line with the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, Section 119, via direct auction sale. The containers shall be released to the beneficiary subject to the following conditions which are designed to ensure transparency and integrity throughout this direct auction allorati process
“Evidence of payment of the Auction Fee and 7.5 per cent VAT of the Auction Fee, all to be made at any duty-collecting bank. You are to pay the following charges in addition to the above. Payment of 25 per cent of the auction fee being terminal charges. Payment of 25 per cent of the auction fee, including shipping charges.
“You are to provide evidence of payment within 5 working days upon receipt of this auction allocation letter; otherwise, the allocation will be forfeited. All containers disposed of must be evacuated from the premises within 10 working days after payment or time forfeiture. Furthermore, you are to note the following caveats. Applications for the replacement of allocated containers would not be entertained.
“Any allocation letter transferred or sold by the allottee to a third party shall be at the buyer’s risk. Please accept the assurances of the highest esteem and regard of the Comptroller-General of Customs.”
Commenting on the development, Kurra expressed concern over what he described as “the reckless disregard for due process” by Customs officers in conducting direct allocations of seized items to politically connected companies and individuals.
He noted that the auction sum of N2 million per container suggests a fixed-fee arrangement inconsistent with the valuation process typically applied during legitimate auctions.
“I don’t know why people choose not to respect the law anymore. The impunity with which the Service is carrying out things now is better imagined. I don’t understand what kind of country we are,” Kurra said.
The Association of Licensed Auctioneers of Nigeria president explained that the Bureau of Public Procurement, which was established by law as the regulatory body overseeing procurement matters, also has oversight responsibility in auction processes since auctions involve public assets and financial transactions.
“You see, there is an agency called the Bureau for Public Procurement. The BPP happens to be the regulatory body in charge of anything that has to do with procurement. An auction has to do with procurement. BPP’s Act was promulgated by the National Assembly and assented to by the President.”
He added that the development violates provisions of the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act, which outlines how confiscated or forfeited assets should be managed and disposed of by any law enforcement agency.
“Under the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022, all forfeited or seized assets by law enforcement agencies, including Customs, are to be disposed of through transparent processes, either by public auction or sale, supervised by the relevant oversight bodies.
“The Act prohibits direct allocation or sale of seized items to individuals or organisations outside approved channels, with violations attracting criminal sanctions.
“The POCA Act takes care of everything that concerns dealing with forfeited items. Anything that is a proceed of crime must be valued by a qualified valuer before auctioneers are invited to sell the property. But Customs has been flouting these provisions without remorse,” he said.
Kurra insisted that the so-called “direct auction allocations” being carried out by the Nigeria Customs Service are illegal and not backed by any law.
“If they follow due process, we don’t have issues with them. But when they flagrantly abuse powers that don’t belong to them, that’s where the problem lies. There is no law anywhere in this country that gives them the right to do what they are doing.
“What is happening is that Customs officers are issuing cars and seizing items at lower amounts without any publicised auctioning.
“There was a time the Service allocated 380 vehicles to one company for N3.8 million. Among those vehicles were Prados, Hiluxes, and Benzes, each going for N10,000. This is robbery.
“Even a bicycle now cannot sell for N10,000, not to talk of a Prado or a Hilux. When we traced some of these deals, we discovered that the companies involved belong to Customs officers and their families,” Kurra said.
He called on the Federal Government to urgently intervene, warning that unchecked corruption and illegality within the Customs Service are denying Nigeria significant revenue.
“If the government is serious, they need to checkmate these people. The president needs money to work for the people, but instead of generating it lawfully through Customs and other agencies, some individuals are enriching themselves.
“In the case of Customs, they seize, they value, they auction, all by themselves. So, who is regulating them? Nobody. There is a law guiding these things, but they ignore it. It’s time the government steps in to restore sanity,” he stressed.