Rice Importation Scam: EFCC To Arraign Customs Chiefs

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to arraign, this week, Nigeria Customs’ Chiefs who have been fingered in the N3 billion rice importation scam by the Vaswani brothers.

Former Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Ahmed Bello, and two other comptrollers, Hanatu Sulaiman, and Olufemi Taylor, have been mentioned in the scam.

A reliable source told newsmen that the commission has concluded its investigation and charges prepared to nail the customs officers.

EFCC chairman, Farida Waziri, had recently confirmed that the commission was hard on the case and that it would not delay in prosecuting those found liable as soon as investigation was concluded.

In her words, “every one of them found liable will be prosecuted as anyone who breaches the law will face the music. No one is above the law.”

The EFCC boss had maintained that the investigation took a long time because the case was a very complicated one.

According to her, the Vaswani Brothers own a conglomerate which the commission has to investigate in the case.

She added that the EFCC has discovered in the course of the investigation that the Stallion Group of Companies owned by the brothers did not only dodge import duty, but also evaded tax.

It would be recalled that the EFCC arrested Suleiman and Taylor in March for allegedly conspiring with the Stallion Group to defraud the Federal Government of N3 billion in import duty from the importation of rice.

The two comptrollers had mentioned the former CG, Bello, for allegedly ordering the release of the rice to the Vaswani brothers after the customs service had seized the consignment and given the importer a bill of N3 billion.

The ex-custom boss was also quizzed by the EFCC in March over his role in the release of the consignment without duty.

Chairman, Board of Directors, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Chief Ebitimi Banigo (left), Regional Manager, Port Harcourt Airport, Omagwa, Mr. Uche Nwanguma (centre) and the Head of FAAN secuirty, Mr. S.O. Odugbemi during the visit of the board to the airport, recently. Photo: Ike Wigodo