President Muhammadu Buhari has overruled the decision by the Ministry of Finance directing the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to discontinue an appeal it instituted against a court judgment involving it and Messrs Minaj Holdings over seizure of imported cement. Documents exclusively obtained by New Telegraph on the matter, which had lingered since 2009, was brought to the president’s attention by the immediate past Comptroller- General of Customs, Dikko Inde – Abdullahi. But President Buhari, in a memo, directed the finance ministry to withdraw earlier memo issued to the Customs to desist from appealing the judgment.Minaj Holdings Limited was granted a presidential approval in 2008 to import 500,000 metric tons of cement. The approval had a valid period of December 31, 2008. The company, according to information, brought cargo loads of cement after October 29, 2009, clearly over ten months after the expiration of the presidential approval.
The Customs, under the watch of immediate past CG, acting on Federal Government’s fiscal policy banning the importation of cement, which had come into effect in 2009, sized consignment of cement brought by Minaj.
The company challenged the seizure at the Federal High Court. At the hearing of the application, the court gave an interim order that the cement be sold under the supervision of the Deputy Registrar of the Federal High Court and that the proceeds paid into an interest yielding account pending the determination of the substantive suit. The order of the court was carried out and the consignment was sold for N155 million. However, the court thereafter was said to issue another order that the proceeds from the sale be paid to the plaintiff.
The court, in a final judgment it gave on the substantive suit on January 8, 2013, awarded special damages in favour of Plaintiff/Company, which included payments of N6.1 billion owed Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, N864.8 million owed Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and $ 9.2 million due on demurrage.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, the Nigeria Customs appealed the matter at the Court of Appeal in Lagos. The matter is coming up for hearing on September 15, 2015. New Telegraph learnt that
some senior officials of government briefed the president on the case and he had conceded to their argument that the Customs should desist from pursuing the case at the Court of Appeal.
A memo to this effect from the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, was dated June 23, 2015 and signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs. A. M. Daniel –Nwaobia. Addressed to the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs and entitled: “Request for Mr. President’s approval to pay Messrs Minaj Holdings Limited’s outstanding judgment debt on importation of cement in 2008,” the memo stated: “I write to inform you of Mr. President’s approval of the committee’s recommendation for the payment to Minaj Holdings Limited the sum of N6,131,059,549.86 and $8,746,65.00.
The payments were to enable the company to inter-alia, satisfy its indebtedness to third parties such as banks, the shipping company and other overseas parties involved in the transaction culminating in the suit. You are therefore requested to note action and terminate further legal actions on the case.”
But the former Customs boss wrote a letter to the president dated July 28, 2015, in which, he briefed the president all that had transpired in the case and expressed surprise about the letter written by permanent secretary in finance ministry, asking the Service to withdraw the appeal when a decision had been reached to pay the money. Dikko, in the letter to the president, suggested that the Court of Appeal be allowed to decide on the case.
However, in yet another reversal letter written to Customs and dated July 31, 2015, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Finance, said: “I write with respect to letter Ref. No. HCSF/150/vol.1/x dated July 31, 2015, on the above subject and convey instructions of Mr. President that action be stayed in respect to my earlier letter Ref. No.F/LEG/170615/49 dated June 23, 2015 on the subject matter.
“Mr. President has equally directed that the Nigeria Customs Service pursue the appeal; against the judgment of the Court to its logical conclusion,” a reversal letter written by permanent secretary of finance ministry, a copy obtained by our correspondent, said.
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