The Area Controller in charge of TinCan Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Comptroller Adekunle Oloyode, has said four clearing agents forged his signature to clear imported cars.
Oloyode, who said this while briefing journalists on the half-year report of the Command, said the agents wanted to clear four trucks and some cars.
He added that the agents were arrested, though they had been granted administrative bail.
“We discovered an incident of forgery of the signature of the Area Controller, which is why you have this here.
“The standard procedure for the clearance of non-standard Vehicles Identification Number (VIN) is that the Customs Area Controller (CAC) must approve the use of that particular code.
“So,  their papers were still on my table but they went ahead to forge my signature on another application.
“They were trying to escape and get out of the terminal. The officers that were supposed to release the goods were vigilant enough because I sent to all the terminals a sample of my signature.
“So, these four trucks belong to four different people and they actually forged my signature. They were apprehended and locked up for sometime, but for the sake of human rights, they are on administrative bail for now. But as we go ahead, definitely, we are going to prosecute them.”he said.
Meanwhile, the CAC said between January and June 2022, the Command collected a total sum of N274. 320 billion, a figure which, he said, represented a 27.50 per cent increase from what the Command collected within the same period in 2021.
Oloyode further said the cotmmand had strengthened the risk management structure to mitigate the consistent attempts by some non-complaint agents to abuse the process through act of commercial fraud.