Ayomide Awe
The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, has reportedly ordered the arrest of individuals accused of posing as officials of the Nigeria Customs Service to sell seized vehicles to the anti-corruption agency.
The alleged fraud came to light after the suspects reportedly approached Aliyu at his residence, claiming they had vehicles seized by the Customs Service available for sale, according to a report by SaharaReporters.
Sources cited in the report said the ICPC chairman subsequently arranged for the commission to pay for the vehicles, only for the purported sellers to be identified as impostors.
The suspects were reportedly arrested on the chairman’s orders.
However, details of the alleged arrests and the identities of the suspects were not independently established in the report.
Documents obtained by SaharaReporters reportedly show that the commission processed payments totalling ₦31.6m in August 2024 for vehicle purchases, value-added tax and related expenses.
The payments comprised ₦20m to the Nigeria Customs Service, ₦1.5m to the Federal Inland Revenue Service as VAT, ₦8m to an individual identified as Muhammed Ibrahim for vehicle purchases, and another ₦2.1m to the same individual for fuelling vehicles said to have been auctioned to the commission.
The documents also raised questions about the bank account details supplied for the transaction and discrepancies in the number of vehicles listed in different payment records.
A payment voucher dated August 15, 2024, showed that ₦20m was paid to the “Nigerian Custom Service” for the purchase of three Toyota Hilux vehicles and two Toyota buses.
Another voucher, dated the same day, recorded a ₦1.5m payment to the FIRS as 7.5 per cent VAT on the vehicle purchase.
A separate voucher showed that ₦8m was paid to Muhammed Ibrahim for one Toyota Hilux and one Toyota bus.
On August 22, 2024, the commission processed an additional ₦2.1m payment to Ibrahim for the fuelling of seven vehicles, listed as four Toyota Hilux vehicles and three Toyota buses.
The four vouchers were reportedly charged to the commission’s Intervention Fund.
They were certified by Bola Olagunju Lateefat, identified as the Officer Controlling Expenditure, and signed by Williams Cletus, while Sunday Ibrahim was listed as the paying officer.
The documents reportedly showed that the commission raised concerns about discrepancies in the bank account details provided in correspondence purportedly originating from the Customs Service.
A letter attributed to the NCS Department of Enforcement, Inspection and Investigation, addressed to the ICPC chairman, reportedly confirmed the allocation of four Hilux vehicles and three buses to the commission.
According to the letter, three Hilux vehicles and two buses were allocated through an allocation committee, while one Hilux and one bus were obtained through a public auction.
The letter also identified Ibrahim Muhammed as an authorised and licensed Customs auctioneer.
It directed that payment for the three Hilux vehicles and two buses be made into an account bearing the name of the Nigeria Customs Service, with account number 3000008059.
However, payment for the additional Hilux vehicle and bus was directed to an account identified as belonging to Ibrahim Muhammed, with account number 4235695567 domiciled in Zenith Bank.
A separate document dated July 30, 2024, and described as a “Direct Auction Allocation” letter, reportedly listed other vehicles, including a Toyota Land Cruiser, a Toyota Hilux and another Toyota Land Cruiser.
That letter directed payment of fees and VAT into a different account identified as belonging to the Customs Service, with account number 1879675139 at Access Bank.
The conflicting account details reportedly prompted an internal query within the ICPC.
An internal handwritten memo dated August 7, 2024, referenced an observation concerning the bank account details provided by the Customs Service.
The memo stated that the NCS had been contacted and that an amended copy of the letter had subsequently been forwarded.
It further noted that an amended allocation letter on pages 11 and 12 of the file reflected what was described as the correct Customs Service bank details for VAT payment.
The documents, however, do not by themselves establish who controlled the disputed accounts or whether the account discrepancies were linked to the alleged impersonation.
The number of vehicles listed across the payment documents also raised questions about the transaction.
While the initial ₦20m voucher referred to three Toyota Hilux vehicles and two Toyota buses, the ₦8m voucher covered one Hilux and one bus.
The subsequent ₦2.1m fuel payment, however, referred to seven vehicles comprising four Hilux vehicles and three buses.
Although the figures could reflect the different stages of the transaction, the records presented in the report leave questions about the relationship between the allocations, purchases and subsequent payments.
The report did not establish whether the vehicles were physically delivered to the commission, their condition or whether an official investigation had conclusively determined the circumstances surrounding the payments.
ICPC Chairman, Spokesperson Silent
SaharaReporters said attempts to obtain comments from Aliyu were unsuccessful, as he reportedly neither answered telephone calls nor responded to a text message sent to him.
Efforts to reach the ICPC spokesperson, John Okor Odey, for clarification were also said to have been unsuccessful.
The reported incident raises questions about the commission’s procurement and payment verification procedures, particularly the checks conducted before public funds are released for government vehicle purchases.
However, the available documents and accounts cited in the report do not, on their own, establish wrongdoing by the ICPC chairman or any other commission official.
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