Justice Ibrahim Ahmad Kala of Federal High Court, Lagos, has nullified the forfeiture and auction of 19 containers containing agricultural machinery belonging to Rahmaniyya Rice Limited by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).
Further to the above, Justice Kala has ordered the Nigerian Customs Service to return the consignments to the company forthwith. While also awarded N5 million costs against the Nigerian Customs Service Board in favour of the plaintiff for expenses and efforts incurred in prosecuting the case.
Justice Kala made the above orders in a judgment delivered virtually today, in a suit numbered FHC/L/CS/2436/2025, filed by Rahmaniyya Rice Limited against the Nigerian Customs Service Board and other defendants.
Other defendants in the suit are: Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service; Emmanuel Oshoba, Nigerian Customs Service Area Comptroller Apapa Area Command, Lagos State; Smart Akande, Director Legal Services/Legal Adviser, Nigerian Customs Service, Abuja, the Managing Director, APM Terminal; the Managing Director, One Ocean Network Express; Folash Logistic Nigeria Ltd and Eversgro Food International Limited, listed as first to eight defendants.
The legal dispute centred on 19 40-foot containers covered by Bill of Lading No. ONEYBLRE08688500. The containers which were said to contained agricultural machinery, including cleaning machines, sorting or grading seed machines, grain or dried pre-cleaners, RPCC3 and ACY-LC elevators and husk-related equipment.
The Plaintiff, Rahmaniyya Rice Limited through its lawyers, Babarimi O. Adeyemi and Jacob J. Momoh, had challenged the seizure, forfeiture and subsequent auction of the consignments, arguing that the goods were covered by an Import Duty Exempted Certificate (IDEC), while the assessed duties and demurrage had been paid.
The company also contended that the consignments had been released from Customs custody with exit notes and that the Customs authorities could not subsequently seize or dispose of them without complying with the relevant provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
The Customs through its team of lawyers, raised a preliminary objection, arguing, among other things, that the suit was incompetent because the plaintiff failed to serve the required pre-action notice.
The judge however dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the Customs, and proceeded to determine the substantive claims.
In determined the substantive suit, Justice Kala held that previous forfeiture orders made by other two judges of the Court in respect of the consignments could not be supported by the facts and applicable law because the goods had already been cleared by Customs officers.
The judge ruled that the statutory provisions relied upon for condemnation and forfeiture applied to circumstances including uncleared, abandoned, prohibited or improperly released goods, and not consignments that had already been cleared by Customs.
Justice Kala consequently, declared that ownership of the 19 containers and their contents remained with Rahmaniyya Rice Limited.
Justice Kala therefore nullified and set aside two forfeiture orders made in suit numbers FHC/L/MISC/891/2025 and FHC/L/MISC/1096/2025 on August 25 and October 16, 2025, by Justice Deinde Dipeolu and Justice Alexander Owoeye, respectively.
The judge also nullified the auction sale of the containers to the eighth defendant or any other individual or company. While ordered the immediate return of all 19 containers to Rahmaniyya Rice Limited.
In final analysis, Justice Kala made the following declaration and orders: “It is hereby declared that the ownership of the consignments as contained in the Bill of Lading No. ONEYBLRE08688500 consisting of 40 Ft of 19 units of Containers with Numbers; TCNU4887136. TRHU7418054. SEGU4992027, ONEU0286170, FDCU04503 48, GCXU5261289, NYKU5196092, ONEU1028647, TCLU6461667, SEGU4903230, GCXU5209887, KKFU7954101, ONEUO1!1 1340, GAQU6496-434, FSCU8617507, ONEUI736501, TLCU891 1280, TLCUS969165 and NYKU4917595 which contained Agricultural machineries consisting of cleaning Machine, sporting or grading seed machine. grain or dried pre-cleaner, RPCC3 and ACY-LC. Elevator and Husk remain the property of the Plaintiff.
“AN order of this Honourable Court is hereby made nullifying. setting aside and discharging the forfeiture orders made in Motion No. FHC/L/MISC/891/2025 issued by Dipeolu, j. dated 25th August, 2025 and Motion No. FHC/L/MISC/1096/2025 issued by Owoeye. j. dated 16th October, 2025, all of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division in respect of the Plaintiff’s Containers of 40 Ft of 19 units with Number; TCNU4887136. TRHU7418054, SEGU4992027, ONEU0286170. NYKU5S196092, ONEU1028647, TCLU6-461667, FDCU04503 48, SEGU4903230. GCXU5S209887, KKFU7954 101, GCXU5261289. ONEU0111340, GAQU6496-434. FSCU8617507, ONEU1736501, TLCU8911280, TLCU5S969165 and NYKU4917595 covered in the Bill of Lading No ONEYBLRE08688500.
“AN order of the Honourable Court is hereby made nullifying and or setting aside the auction sale of the Plaintiff’s Containers of 40 Ft of 19 units with Number; TCNU4887136, TRHU7418054, SEGU4992027, ONEU0286170, NYKUS196092, ONEU1028647, TCLU6461667, FDCU0450348, SEGU4903230, GCXU5S209887, KKFU7954101, GCXU5261289, ONEU0111340, GAQU6496434, FSCU8617507, ONEU1736501, TLCU8911280, TLCUS969165 and NYKU4917595 covered by the Bill of Lading No ONEYBLRE08688500 to the 8” Defendant and or any other individual or company(s).
“An order of mandatory injunction is hereby made directing the return to the Plainuff forthwith, its Containers of 40 Ft of 19 units with Number: TCNU 4887136, TRHU7418054, SEGU4992027, ONEU0286170, NYKU5S196092, ONEU 1028647, TCLU6-461667, FDCU0450348, SEGU4903230, GCXU5 209887, KKFU7954101, GCXU5 261289, ONEU0111340. GAQU6496434, FSCU8617507, ONEU1736501, TLCU891 1280, TLCUS969165 and NYKU4917595 from the 8 Defendant and or any other individual or company(s) who hold title by virtue of otherwise, auction sale or any other means.
“In the event that the containers could not be traced and recovered completely, an order is hereby made directing the 1st Defendant to pay the Plaintiff forthwith the monetary value of the Agricultural machineries consisting of all or any of the missing machine such as the cleaning Machine, sporting or grading seed machine. grain or dried pre-cleaner, RPCC3 and ACY-LC, Elevator and Husk missing as supposed to be contained in the 19 units containers of 40 Ft with Number: TCNU4887136, TRHU7418054, SEGU4992027, ONEU0286170. NYKU5196092, ONEU1028647, TCLU646 1667, FDCU0450348, SEGU4903230, GCXU5209887, KKFU7954101, GCXU5261289, ONEU0111340, GAQU6496434, FSCU8617507, ONEU1736501, TLCU8911280, TLCUS969165 and NYKU4917595 and as covered by the Bill of Lading No ONEYBLRE08688500.”
In awarding cost against the Customs, the judge held that: “as cost follow the event of the trouble taken by the Plaintiff in successfully, prosecuting this claim as the party who is right to be indemnified for the expenses to which it has been unnecessarily made to initiate the proceedings as well as compensate it for its time and effort in coming to court, the cost of N5 million only is hereby awarded in favor of the Plaintiff, and against the 1st defendant only who is responsible for the whole mess”.