The Nigeria Customs Service has said an officer who was accused of extorting N1m from a Nigerian returning from the United States of America, Oke Adhekegba, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, took tax from the passenger and not a bribe.

The PUNCH gathered that the officers, identified as K.O. Adebayo and C.C. Ugboma, had accosted the returnee at the airport, insisting that his suitcases required payment of Customs duty.

It was further gathered that after an altercation with the returnee, the Customs officer provided a private account detail where the money, N1m, was paid.

Speaking with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, the returnee said the officers had initially demanded N5m.

FIJ added that the victim was tossed around and frustrated until around 9 pm, when the officers agreed to take N1m.

The victim said, “I had thought they would provide a government account number, but no, it was a female PoS merchant they brought. The merchant, whom I am convinced is their accomplice, provided her PalmPay account number 9551197XXX with Shaaibu Rabiu as the account number.”

In a defensive statement, the spokesperson of GHR Command, Usman Abdu, stated that what was taken from the passenger was the duty-paid value of her luggage, which included perfumes, bags, and clothes.

The customs publicist added that the items are worth N3,113,574 and have a duty-paid value of N1,000,004.

The customs spokesperson said, “The attention of the Nigeria Customs Service, Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command, has been drawn to a media report concerning an incident involving a passenger during customs clearance procedures at the Arrival Hall D of the old terminal.

“The incident involves one Mr Oke Adhekegba, who arrived in Lagos aboard British Airways Flight Number BA-75 from London on Friday, May 16, 2025, at approximately 18:47 hours. Preliminary findings indicate that, following a careful examination by officers of the Service with the name Chief Superintendent of Customs, K.O. Adebayo, and Assistant Superintendent of Customs I, C.C. Ugboma, the passenger was accompanied by 10 pieces of luggage containing multiple items, including 15 pairs of footwear, 22 bottles of perfume, 12 pieces of bags and numerous new clothing.

“These items were assessed at $1,948.15 upon proper valuation. Using the prevailing exchange rate of N1,598.22, the value in naira amounted to N3,113,574.00. In line with the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, the applicable charges, which are the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme charge, Import Duty, Surcharge, ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme Levy, and Value Added Tax, were computed, amounting to N1,000,004.00, which has since been duly remitted into the Federal Government’s coffers (copy attached).”