HEDA had sued the respondent – Nigeria Customs Service Board – in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/52/2022 over the board’s failure to provide the information requested from it on the details of the contract.
Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court sitting has ordered the Nigeria Customs Service Board to grant the Freedom of Information request by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) by providing details of its 2021 recruitment screening contract award.
HEDA had sued the respondent – Nigeria Customs Service Board – in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/52/2022 over the board’s failure to provide the information requested from it on the details of the contract.
HEDA in a Motion on Notice dated March 25, 2022, but filed on March 28, 2022, asked the Court for an order of Mandamus compelling the board to supply the information it requested on December 17, 2021, including the name of the company/firm it contracted to conduct the 2021 recruitment screening exercise and the amount awarded.
HEDA also requested the process/guidelines for the selection adopted by the contracted company/firm and the NCS in the said recruitment exercise and the name of the company/firm contracted to renovate the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Abuja and the amount awarded.
Justice Nwite in his ruling on Tuesday after hearing the argument of lawyers for both parties in the suit, ordered the board to provide all the details of the contracts as requested by HEDA.
On June 13, Justice Nwite ordered, “That an order of Mandamus is hereby made compelling the Respondent to supply the information requested by the Applicant as contained in the Applicant's Request dated 17/12/2021 marked as Exhibit HEDA 1, to wit: ‘The name of the Company/Firm contracted by the Nigerian Customs Service Board/Nigeria Customs Service to conduct the just concluded Nigeria Custom Service Recruitment Screening Exercise 2021, and the amount awarded The process/guidelines for selection adopted by the contracted Company/Firm and the Nigeria Customs Service in the said recruitment exercise;
“’The name of the Company/Firm recently contracted to renovate the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Abuja and the amount awarded.”
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, May 23, unveiled the newly-built N19.6 billion Nigeria Customs Service corporate headquarters in Abuja.
According to the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, the building has a 12-floor tower with five floors on both wings of the tower.
He also said it has ‘bridges’ linking the two wings.
Adeniyi said construction of the building, sitting on approximately 25,000 square metres, started in 2007.
Adeniyi said the building was constructed by indigenous firms.
The Nigeria Customs Service Board was set up on June 1, 1972, and amended by decree no. 45 of 1992.
The decree was further amended by decree no. 77 of 1993 which provided for the inclusion of serving Deputy Comptrollers-General as members of the board.
In another development, HEDA expressed deep concerns over the suspension of Abdulrasheed Bawa as the Chairman of the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
HEDA said the action, which occurred within a month of the new government's assumption of office, “is now becoming a tradition for every regime on the assumption of office to decapitate the organisation and send the wrong signal that will undermine the ongoing fight against corruption in the country”.
In a press statement endorsed by HEDA's Chairman, Olarenwaju Suraju, the anti-corruption group emphasized that Nigerians are still in the dark regarding the anti-corruption agenda of the new administration.
According to Suraju, the circumstances surrounding past and current government officials, particularly those in public office who have been summoned by the EFCC, have not been adequately addressed.
Instead of investigating these matters, the government has chosen to suspend the EFCC Chairman, signalling a lack of genuine interest in addressing corruption issues from both past and present administrations, HEDA said.
Suraju further expressed concern over the consistent pattern observed when it comes to the EFCC Chairman's tenure, highlighting that no Chairman has ever left the office in a dignified manner.
He stressed that this ongoing challenge lies with the individuals who assume office and lack the will to thoroughly investigate past administrations, resulting in the unceremonious removal of EFCC chairmen as sacrificial lambs.
The anti-corruption advocate warned that such actions send a negative message to the EFCC and other groups fighting against corruption.
"It has become almost customary for new governments to undermine the commission, further hindering the fight against corruption," Suraju said.