Customs discovered that many private aircraft were operating in violation of the payment of appropriate duties and accordingly issued warning notices.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of a Bombardier BD-700 Global 6000 aircraft, with registration mark 9H-GVG and manufacturer’s serial number 9470, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The aircraft is operated by Orlean Invest Africa Limited.
Justice James Omotosho, in a judgment delivered on January 22 and sighted by newsmen on Tuesday, held that the respondents failed to show cause why an order of final seizure, condemnation and forfeiture should not be made, according to The Nation.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1085/2025, was filed by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) against Orlean Invest Africa Limited and the aircraft.
The case was instituted by the Nigeria Customs Service following an audit exercise conducted on private aircraft operating in Nigerian airspace in 2024 to determine the regularity of their operations in the context of importation and exportation processes under customs laws.
Customs discovered that many private aircraft were operating in violation of the payment of appropriate duties and accordingly issued warning notices.
The service assessed the customs duty liability of Orlean Invest Africa Limited, the respondent in the case, at ₦1,044,493,295.54.
This led to the filing of the suit, which sought one relief: “An order of final seizure, condemnation and forfeiture of the Bombardier BD-700 Global 6000 with registration mark 9H-GVG and manufacturer’s serial number 9470 (the 2nd respondent) at any airport in Nigeria.”
Delivering his ruling, Justice Omotosho ruled that the respondents did not present sufficient proof of compliance with Nigeria’s customs laws, particularly on the payment of import duties.
“From all the processes filed by the respondents, they have failed to show cause why the 2nd respondent should not be forfeited. Proof of payment of customs duty would have helped their case, but they failed to exhibit the same,” Justice Omotosho said.
He added that the failure to pay any customs duty since the aircraft was imported into Nigeria constitutes a grave breach of the law and undermines the revenue of the Federal Government.
“Hiding under foreign ownership to operate aircraft in Nigeria for years is nothing more than an attempt to cheat the government of revenue due to it,” the judge added.
Justice Omotosho further held that the respondents did not provide any concrete evidence to challenge the customs duty assessment.
“The respondents only made a blanket statement on how the duty was assessed and insisted that they are not liable to pay customs duty. It is therefore clear that the respondents are liable to pay customs duty on the 2nd respondent. The customs duty assessed is still presumed correct,” he said.
In granting the reliefs sought by the NCS, the court ordered “the final seizure, condemnation and forfeiture of the Bombardier BD-700 Global 6000 with Registration Mark 9H-GVG and manufacturer’s serial No. 9470 at any airport in Nigeria to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”