Retired Customs Comptroller Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo is to be tried by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) based on allegations that he did not declare his assets and for allegedly having ‘stupendous wealth’.
His accuser; one Nwachukwu had alleged thatMr Taiwo, not only did not declare his assets, he also accused him of illegal acquisition of wealth and abuse of office.
Retired Customs Comptroller Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo is to be tried by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) based on allegations that he did not declare his assets and for allegedly having ‘stupendous wealth’.
His accuser; one Nwachukwu had alleged thatMr Taiwo, not only did not declare his assets, he also accused him of illegal acquisition of wealth and abuse of office.
To be tried alongside Taiwo is a serving Customs Assistant Controller; Dauda Ashigye, who is also allegedly “engaging in running a private company, false declaration and owning property not fairly attributable to his income as a public officer contrary to Section 6(b) and 15(2) and 15(3), both of the CCB and CCT Act.”
The duo of Taiwo and Ashigye represent how the Nigeria Customs Service is now perceived – a corruption personified agency of the government. Even without being tried yet, a lot of Nigerians have already convicted them of the allegations.
The question is, why is that so? The serviced didn’t start out as a corrupt organisation.
What is now known as the Nigeria Customs Service – a paramilitary organisation, could be said to have been established a little over a century ago when the British Colonial administration appointed Mr. T. A. Wall, in 1891, as the Director-General of Customs for the collection of inland Revenue in Niger Coast Protectorate. This is the formalization of the duties which the Department had been performing under the Royal Niger Company under the leadership of the past Chief Executives.
The name Department of Customs and Excise emerged in 1922 when the first Comptroller of Customs and Excise, Federation of Nigeria was appointed. Towards the end of 1945, the Customs and Excise Preventive service was established under the leadership of Mr. Nicol; a Briton. This was made up of two divisions – Maritime and Preventive. The maritime Division has the responsibility of collecting import and excise duties and other related functions while the Preventive Division was responsible for enforcement duties which included prevention of smuggling as well as arrest and prosecution of smugglers.
Sequel to the promulgation of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) No. 55 of 1958 the affairs of the Department were brought under the management of a Board. The Chairman of the Board of Customs and Excise was made the Chief Executive Officer of the Department. Mr. E. P. C. Langdon, a Briton, was appointed the first Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1959. Mr. S. G. Quinton succeeded him.
The attainment of independence in 1960 led to the Federal Government’s ‘Nigerianisation’ policy which brought about the appointment of the first indigenous chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in the person of Mr. Ayodele Diyan in 1964. He died in 1968 and was succeeded by Mr. Henny Etim Duke.
Since Mr Duke’s exit, the Customs has had several chief executives, but a lot of people will agree that the military incursion into the Nigerian political terrain has had a negative effect on the nation’s social economic landscape. One of the victims is the Nigeria Customs Service, which at a point was even headed by a military officer, in addition to being headed at various times by persons with no relevant cognate experience in revenue matters, trade and preventive services.
There is no doubt that many Customs officers live above their means, this is one of the reasons why a lot of people believe that the service’s personnel are corrupt.
According to Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2005, The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is a notoriously corrupt public institutio. This is corroborated by the Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2010, in which more than half of surveyed households who had contact with the customs administration throughout 2009 report to have paid a bribe.
It is the system that corrupts the service; Nigeria is cash-driven economy, while the nation’s cargo clearance procedure has for many years also been cash driven. Apart from this, the penchant for violation of import guidelines by importers has also largely contributed to the corruption in the system.
According to Global Integrity 2010, due to corruption, customs and excise laws are not always enforced uniformly or without discrimination. The process of clearing goods through Nigerian ports is very bureaucratic and prone to corruption, and this is supported by the World Economic Forum Global Enabling Trade Report 2010, which illustrates that trade in Nigeria is impeded by customs procedures and irregular payments, such as bribes taking place during import and export processes.
It is known fact that many serving customs officers also double as clearing agents, it is also true that most officers live ostentatious live that their monthly salary cannot justify. Sadly however, the system shields and encourages them to the extent that living above means is a common thing in Customs.
Rasheed Taiwo and Dauda Ashigye who already has allegations bordering on illegal acquisition of wealth while in service is a clear example of how the system can turn against its own. The duo fell out of favour with the powers that be in the Service and they have been turned- in as scapegoats.
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