Customs hands over seized helicopters to Nigerian Air Force

Two bell helicopters worth $19million have been handed over to Nigerian Air Force by the Nigerian Customs Service in Lagos.

According to a report by Channels TV, the two helicopters were recently seized by the Nigerian Customs Service after the importers failed to comply with importation requirements.

The Deputy Comptroller General of Customs, Dan Ugo, made this known while handing over the helicopters to the representative of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Hyacinth Eze.

Ugo said: “Due to the vigilance of the officers and their controller here, it was observed, when the requisite documents were requested for, that they breached our laws.

“This kind of equipment should come with end user certificate and some other things and the law provides that if you import in breach of the law, we make a seizure of the items.

“After seizing, it is not enough. we must go the whole hog. The process is that we go and appear before the court of law, file for condemnation and the court actually condemned it and forfeited it to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” he told reporters.

Receiving the helicopters, Air Commodore Eze explained that the two helicopters will assist the military in its battle against insurgency in the north-eastern part of Nigeria.