[Teeco Designer]

 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday arrested former Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Ahmed Bello, over his alleged role in the Vaswani brothers' N3 billion rice importation fraud.

The former comptroller general is being held along side another Comptroller of Customs, Hannatu Suliaman, who was also fingered in the alleged scam in addition to the General Manager of Stallion Group, Olalere Tajudeen, and a clearing at the Apapa Port, Lukman Hussein.

Daily Independent gathered that the anti-graft commission arrested Ahmed and the three others preparatory to their arraignment in court even though our source could not confirm the date of the arraignment.

It would be recalled that Chairman of the EFCC, Farida Waziri, had ordered interrogation of Ahmed in March in connection with an allegation that he waived a N3 billion importation tariff for the vessels of the rice imported by the Vaswani brothers.

The waiver was said to have been made under the pretext of Federal Government's emergency policy on rice importation.

The order for interrogation of Ahmed had been informed by statements credited to two comptrollers of Customs who had earlier been arrested in connection with the allegations.

The two comptrollers, Hannatu Suliaman and Olufemi Taylor, during their interrogation, had disclosed that the Vaswanis imported the said vessels of rice after the expiration of the Federal Government's waiver on rice importation in October 2008.
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They explained that the vessels had not even loaded in Thailand when the importers came to the Nigeria Customs and claimed that the vessels were already in Lagos.

Sulaiman and Taylor had told their interrogators in March that when the vessels arrived, the Nigeria Customs Service gave them a debit note of N3 billion since their importation was not covered by the period of the waiver on importation of rice.

They, however, disclosed that the former comptroller general ordered the release of the vessels to the importers, a revelation which informed his invitation to answer questions.

When EFCC's Head of Media and Publicity, Femi Babafemi, was contacted, he confirmed the arrest of the former Customs boss and others but declined further comment.

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Posted: at 13-08-2009 11:24 AM (14 years ago) | Addicted Hero

those Idian mafia for Nigeria, make them take am easy well well oh

Posted: at 17-08-2009 02:56 AM (14 years ago) | Gistmaniac

mhhn

Posted: at 17-08-2009 09:17 AM (14 years ago) | Addicted Hero

Let look to into this issue. This Indian MAFIAN are business man that bringing food and other needed things to aware country. If it's through Nigeria (Federal Government ) give rice importation waive duty(Duties free) and they go to aware custom with there document and it was accepted. How now My Nigeria Custom Telling us that the VESSELS as not even loaded from Thailand b/4 they collected document from them, and secondly, the vessel Barth in Nigeria port and i strongly believed that each vessel we last one (1) week each. To me no case. Let F.G. assist this Vaswani brothers to move forward in industrialisation for Nigeria to gain work, since NIGERIA LEADERS saifound money (money laundry) out to White man country to invest.

Posted: at 29-02-2012 11:27 AM (12 years ago) | Newbie

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