The Nigeria Customs Service is set to launch another round of enforcement against owners of private jets who have failed to pay outstanding import duties, following the expiration of a one-month grace period granted through presidential intervention.
It was also reliably gathered that the clampdown earlier this year resulted in the grounding of over 40 privately owned aircraft across the country.
“There are certain interventions from the presidency and invariably, you know, the aircraft was sealed with the understanding that these owners will come forward to make payment within a month,” a highly placed source informed about the development, told our correspondent in confidence, due to the lack of authorisation to speak on the matter.
At the height of the operation, some owners reportedly approached the presidency, expressing their willingness to comply but pleaded to avoid public embarrassment. This led to a temporary reprieve.
“So the presidency intervened by asking the Customs to give them one month in which to come forward and make payments,” the source added.
In compliance, Customs unsealed the aircraft under a specific condition: “The Customs unsealed the aircraft at the time with a proviso that within a month, they have a one-month grace, in which time to make good on the promise of paying the duty that is due on those aircraft.”
However, as the grace period comes to an end, only a handful of owners have complied. “Of all these 40 aircraft, (the duties of) three have been paid for, and they paid a total of about N2.4bn,” the source disclosed.
According to the source, another aircraft previously under court seizure also approached Customs to make payment.
Of the four aircraft involved in court proceedings, two have since been exported, while the fourth is operating under temporary admission.
“So four aircraft have come forward to pay. Three have actually paid so far. The fourth one collected its demand notes and promised to go and settle the payment and come back with the customs,” the source explained.
With the expiration of the grace period, the Customs is now preparing to take enforcement action against the defaulters. He explained the timeline leading to the clampdown, saying, “On June 3, 2025, the memo was sent, then by July the one-month grace had expired, and subsequently the customs have shifted gears to take action to be able to recover whatever is outstanding.”
“The Customs service has indicated that now that the one-month grace is over, the customs will, at any time now, impound all the aircraft that are yet to pay duty,” the source said.
Customs is reportedly expecting to recover as much as N90bn in outstanding duties from the defaulting aircraft owners. “It could be more or less. So far, in the last month, N2.4bn has been paid into the coffers of Customs for three aircraft. So there’s still another N90bn out there.
“Given the fact that the grace period has lapsed, the Nigeria Customs Service is now contemplating additional steps to ensure full compliance, by which these owners will be forced to comply with making a duty payment,” the source added.
Meanwhile, a senior official of the Nigeria Customs Service told our correspondent that the agency is taking steps to safeguard government and public interests through legal means.
Speaking on the development, the National Public Relations Officer of the Service, Abdullahi Maiwada, said, “We are taking legal measures. So let’s see what happens.” He added that the service was already engaged in efforts to ensure compliance and accountability.
“We are working behind the scenes. We are trying to take legal measures to make sure that we get what is meant for the government and the people of Nigeria,” Maiwada stated.
Experts react
An aviation expert and CEO of Centurion Security Limited, John Ojikutu, questioned the continued operation of foreign-registered aircraft in Nigeria without proper registration, describing the situation as a potential security threat.
“Have they been registered? Have they been registered as Nigerian aircraft? Have they been given Nigerian registration? Are they carrying a Nigerian number? If they are not carrying a Nigerian number, we should ask the NCAA. At what time should they stay in the country with foreign registration? What does the regulation say? All these things I’m hearing now, we were not hearing them before when I was in the airport,” Ojikutu said.
He stressed that such practices pose a danger to national security. “All these things I’m seeing now, they are, as far as I’m concerned, they are security risks. If there are foreign-registered aircraft in this country, and they have stayed more than 6 months, they have not been re-registered, they should not be flying,” he stated.
Ojikutu noted that past regulations were clear on the matter, but suggested that political interference might have altered enforcement. “That’s what I think the regulation says in those days. If they change it now, it is the politicians who are changing it. What are they going to court for? When you bring in a foreign-registered vehicle, there is a limit to which you can drive it on the road to get Nigerian registration,” he said.
He drew a parallel with customs regulations for vehicles, stressing the right of authorities to impound non-compliant aircraft. “Otherwise, they have the right to seize it. Now you brought this aircraft in, and they have not even paid customs duty. There is a limit for you to fly it. They have the right to seize it. Which court are they going to? Anybody who serves them should go to court. They are all accomplices,” Ojikutu warned.
He further explained the standard procedure expected from aviation regulators. “The first thing the NCAA will do is that this aircraft is foreign registered. When did you bring it into the country?”.
Also, aviation analyst and member of the Aviation Round Table, Olumide Ohunayo, expressed strong support for tighter regulation and proper registration of private jets, insisting that non-scheduled operators must pay full duties and charges to boost government revenue and protect commercial airlines.
“Look, we have repeatedly stated that the private jet services, which are the non-scheduled operators, are the oil that drives the progress of aviation. It’s an inelastic demand, and because of the inelastic demand, so much revenue will accrue, or should accrue, to the government from its services. But unfortunately, there has been a lot of abuse, a lot of grey marketing there,” he said.
According to Ohunayo, it is time for decisive action to address the abuse in the sector. “So, the time has come to bite the bullet, and in biting the bullet, all aircraft are supposed to register properly, and in registering properly, you’re going to generate more revenue for the customs, which goes to the treasury, and you’re going to generate more revenue for the agencies. So, I support doing the right thing.
“We should not allow those who are supposed to pay for luxury to want to enjoy the benefits of commercial services, and that’s what’s killing the airlines too, because in the past, all the waivers they were asking for were being enjoyed together with the private airline, with these non-scheduled operators, which is not right.”
He stressed that import duty waivers for private operators are unjustifiable. “They cannot be waiving import duties on both the aircraft, on the aircraft equipment, aircraft platform, and non-scheduled operators. They are supposed to pay in full. It’s a service, and they charge their clients and customers.
“They don’t carry them free. So, why would the public be the one that would suffer from them not paying their insurance and duties? Why would they be the ones who would suffer from them trying to bypass the system by using waivers that are meant for scheduled operators? I think it’s time to bite the bullet, and the time has come now. Yes, but if you cannot pay the requisite duties, then you offload the aircraft.”
He added that owners unwilling to comply should consider other options. “You return the aircraft to the owners, or you sell it off, or whichever option is open to you. The owners of these aircraft are willing to pay; they have the money, but the agent brokers are the ones who are trying to beat the system and are encouraging the owners. So I encourage this action.”
Aviation professional, Olasunkade Azeez, threw his support behind the Nigeria Customs Service’s enforcement actions against private jet owners who fail to meet their financial obligations, stressing that the aviation sector is governed by strict regulations that must be upheld.
“Aviation is a highly regulated industry. And there are procedures. Nigeria should not be an exception. The owners of all those aircraft have to go by law,” Azeez said.
According to him, owners of high-value aircraft should have the capacity to settle all required payments. “If that is the case, there is no way somebody will bring in an asset of that value and they are unable to pay.
“It’s a lesson to others. Did they not pay before they brought them into the Nigerian doors? If they don’t, Customs should act within the enabling law. Whatever payment needs to be paid to the last kobo.”
Azeez added that non-compliant owners risk losing their aircraft. “If they don’t pay, then it remains under the custody of the Customs service, which has the power to impound it. Let them go ahead. “If the owners are not okay, then they should go to court.”
On October 14, 2024, The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government, acting through the Nigeria Customs Service, planned to ground more than 60 private jets owned by prominent Nigerians over unpaid import duties, starting that same day.
However, the exercise did not proceed as initially scheduled. Later that day, the NCS announced a one-month extension of the verification exercise for private jet owners, shifting the deadline from October 14, 2024, to November 14, 2024.
Since the November 14 deadline passed, there has been no official update on the enforcement. When The PUNCH contacted the Customs service for clarification, it was revealed that ongoing court processes had delayed the government’s effort to recover the duties from the wealthy jet owners.
Investigations into the owners were said to be continuing, with the National Public Relations Officer for the Nigeria Customs Service, Abdullahi Maiwada, explaining that providing details at this stage could compromise legal proceedings.
This situation follows a development in November 2022, when The PUNCH reported that owners of foreign-registered private jets, including top business moguls, leading commercial banks, and other wealthy Nigerians, had taken the Federal Government to court to stop it from grounding their aircraft over alleged non-payment of import duties.
It could not be independently confirmed whether that lawsuit is still active or if the jet owners have reactivated it following the recent planned clampdown.
In a statement at the time, the Customs official had said, “The Nigeria Customs Service wishes to inform the general public, particularly operators of privately-owned aircraft, that the verification exercise for the recovery of import duties on illegally imported private aircraft has been extended by one month, from Monday, 14th October 2024, to Thursday, 14th November 2024.
“This extension aims to further engage operators who have expressed willingness to regularize their import duties, providing them with an additional window to comply with the necessary regulations. The NCS is committed to ensuring that all illegally imported aircraft meet the legal requirements, thereby promoting transparency and accountability in the aviation sector.”
The statement also noted, “In light of this extension, the NCS encourages aircraft operators to take full advantage of the extended period to fulfil their obligations, avoiding sanctions that may arise from non-compliance after the deadline.”
