By Our Reporter
A woman, Mrs. Adaeze Udenzi Nwagboliwe, has threatened to sue the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) for publishing her passport details in national newspapers after she posted on Facebook how its officers seized her bag and a pair of shoes at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Mrs. Nwagboliwe decried how her passport details were published by the NCS National Public Relations Officer, DC Joseph Attah, after she was allegedly forced to pay N151,165.62 for her personal effects seized as she arrived from London aboard a British Airways flight BA083 at 4:30 a.m on October 18.
In a bid to justify the actions of its officers, Attah reportedly claimed in a statement that Mrs. Nwagboliwe refused to pay Customs duty on the mini-boy bag and a pair of sneakers she bought at the duty-free shop in Heathrow, United Kingdom (UK), which the Customs officers considered as luxury and dutiable.
Read Also: Auto dealers decry Customs’ import duty regime
The Customs spokesman insisted that the Louis Vuitton bag and shoes were luxury items that must attract duty.
He added that duty must be paid on items valued above N50,000.
Mrs. Nwagboliwe said: “I paid N151,165.62 eventually. The PRO agreed that they ought to have given me credit for the N50,000 that was allowed. This proved my allegation that there was malice in the way I was treated.”
The woman threatened to sue the NCS for publishing her passport number to the general public after seeking legal counsel.
“My passport could be cloned and used for all kinds of things. This has to be addressed,” she said.
Leave a Reply