The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking death penalty for anyone who attacks its officials during the execution of their duties. This is contained in the new Bill for the Service, which currently before the National Assembly.
Details of the proposed Bill for an Act to repeal the Customs and Excise Management Act (2004) and the Nigeria Customs Service (establishment) Bill, which was obtained by our correspondent last week, the Nigeria Customs Service had requested in section 227 SS(5) that “Any person who fires upon any ship, aircraft or vehicle which is being used for the purpose of enforcing the Customs and Excise Laws or by an Officer while otherwise engaged in the execution of his duties shall be sentenced to death”.
Apart from the death sentence, and in what appear seem like an all-out war against infringement on its right to operate freely, the new CEMA also proposes varying degrees of penalties for offenders who obstruct its operations.
For instance, in section 239 (2), the bill further seeks to imprison any person who threatens an officer with weapon or physically strike an officer either by body or weapon to imprisonment of 10 years
The Act also states that any person who interferes in any way with any ship, aircraft, vehicle, buoy, anchor, chain, rope, or mark which is being used for the purpose of enforcing the Customs Excise Laws shall be liable on conviction of two years’ imprisonment or to a fine of N2 million or both.
Not done yet, also in section 227 (2) the bill states that: “Any officer engaged in the enforcement of the Customs and Excise laws may for that purpose patrol upon and pass freely over and enter any place in Nigeria, and such officer will not be liable for prosecution”.
Apart from the penalties for infringement, the proposed Bill also seeks that the chairman of the board of the Customs Service who shall be appointed by the President subject to confirmation by the National Assembly, should be a retired officer not below the rank of Deputy Comptroller-General.
While also stating that the composition of the board shall have a representative not below a director rank, from the Ministry of finance, Trade and Investment, Transport, Interior, Aviation and Foreign affairs, including a representative of the Council for the Regulations of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (CRFFN)
However, reacting to some parts of the bill, the five accredited associations under the CRFFN which include: Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), National Association of Freight Forwarders and Consolidators (NAFFAC) and Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (ARFFN) picked holes in some of the contentious provisions.
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In a joint memorandum to the Chairman House of Representatives on Customs and Excise Hon. Leke Abejide, which was exclusively obtained by our correspondent, the five freight forwarding associations kicked against the provision on death penalty.
The associations seek that the section should read: “Any person who fires upon any ship, aircraft or vehicle which is been used for the purpose of enforcing the Customs and Excise Laws or by an Officer while otherwise engaged in the execution of his duties shall be prosecuted in line with Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015
The associations also seek that section 87 SS 3(a) where the Customs seeks to limit the choice of the chairman of Customs board to retired officers not below the rank of a DCG of Customs.
The associations proposed a review to read that: “A Chairman who shall be appointed by the President subject to confirmation by the National Assembly shall be Minister of Finance”
The five associations also seek that rather than having one representative of CRFFN in the board, there should be two representatives who shall be practicing freight forwarders.
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