The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, has reportedly ordered the arrest of individuals who posed as officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to sell seized vehicles to him.
Sources indicate that the Chairman was approached at his residence by the individuals, who claimed to be selling seized vehicles.
Rather than treating the offer as a personal transaction, the Chairman reportedly arranged for the ICPC to pay for the vehicles. The sellers subsequently turned out to be impostors, and the Chairman had them arrested, sources say.
“The ICPC Chairman was allegedly approached at his residence by individuals posing as Customs officials who claimed to be selling seized vehicles. Rather than treating it as a personal transaction, he reportedly arranged for the ICPC to pay for the vehicles,” one of the source said.
“The ICPC paid for the vehicles but the sellers turned out to be impostors posing as Customs officials. So the ICPC boss had them arrested.”
Internal ICPC payment vouchers and correspondence show the Commission processed payments of N20 million, N1.5 million, N8 million, and N2.1 million for vehicles and related costs in August 2024, on paperwork that internal correspondence shows was later amended.
The Payments to Customs and an “Auctioneer”
The vehicle-related vouchers in the file date from August 2024. All four August 2024 vouchers are charged to the Commission’s “Intervention Fund.”
A payment voucher dated August 15, 2024, shows a payment of N20 million to the “Nigerian Custom Service.” The description on the voucher states it was for the “purchase of three Toyota Hilux and two Toyota Bus for the Commission as approved on page 16 in file No ICPC/GC/208.”
On the same day, another voucher (No. 083) shows a payment of N1.5 million to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), described as “payment of 7.5% VAT” for the same vehicle purchase.
A third voucher shows an N8 million payment to an individual named “Muhammed Ibrahim” for the purchase of “one Toyota Hilux and one Toyota Bus for the Commission.”
Just a week later, on August 22, 2024, a fourth voucher (No. 085) shows a payment of N2.1 million to Muhammed Ibrahim. The description states it was for the “fueling of seven vehicles (4 Toyota Hilux and 3 Toyota Buses) auctioned to the Commission.”
All four vouchers were certified by Bola Olagunju Lateefat, Officer Controlling Expenditure, and signed by Williams Cletus, with Sunday Ibrahim listed as the Paying Officer.
Two Different Account Numbers
Internal correspondence shows the account details in the Customs paperwork were queried, and an amended letter was forwarded.
A letter from the NCS Department of Enforcement, Inspection & Investigation, addressed to the ICPC Chairman, confirms the allocation of “4 Hilux and 3 Buses.” The letter explains that three Hilux and two buses were allocated by the allocation committee, while the remaining one Hilux and one bus were obtained through a public auction, noting that “Ibrahim Muhammed is the Custom Service Authorized and Licenses Auctioneer.”
An ‘NCS letter’ directed the ICPC to make payments for the three Hilux and two buses into “Nigerian Custom Service, Account No. (3000008059).”
However, it directed that payment for the one Hilux and one bus be made into “Ibrahim Muhammed Account Details, which also herewith Muhammed Ibrahim, Account No. 4235695567 Bank. Zenith Bank.”
A separate “Direct Auction Allocation” letter dated July 30, 2024, addressed to the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, allocated “scrap vehicles” (Toyota Landcruiser, Toyota Hilux, and another Toyota Landcruiser) and directed payment into a different account: “Fees/VAT (NCS), Account No. 1879675139, Access Bank.”
An internal, handwritten ICPC memo dated August 7, 2024, captures the query.
Referencing an “observation on the account details provided by the Nigeria Customs Service,” it states: “The NCS had been contacted after which an amended copy of the letter was forwarded today, August 2024… Sir, You may wish to direct further case.”
The same note continues: “NCS had on pages 11-12 amended letter of allocation reflecting the correct bank details of Nigeria Customs Service for payment of VAT.”
Sources, however, say the sellers turned out to be impostors posing as Customs officials, and that they were arrested on the orders of the Chairman.
Other Procurement Discrepancies
The documents also show inconsistencies in the number of vehicles purchased. While the NCS letter and the initial N20 million payment voucher reference “three Hilux and two buses,” the fuel voucher references “seven vehicles (4 Toyota Hilux and 3 Toyota Buses).” Another N8 million voucher is for “one Hilux and one bus.”
The documents also contain details of a separate procurement for the “Remodelling of the Commission’s Toilet Facility” at the ICPC headquarters.
Vouchers show a payment of N302.1 million to M/s Galaxy Global Crystals Ltd, against a contract sum of N359,884,297.83.
Board minutes record a resolution that the Head of Procurement amend the Memorandum “stating that intervention funds would be used to finance the remodeling of the Commission’s toilet facility.”
A handwritten note in the file references a “Response to Audit Query” on a payment of N341,863,530.43.
Efforts by SaharaReporters to reach the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, for a reaction were unsuccessful, as he neither answered calls to his mobile phone nor responded to a text message sent to him.
Similarly, attempts to reach the ICPC spokesperson, John Okor Odey, for comments were unsuccessful, as he did not answer calls or respond to a text message sent to him.