A Federal High Court in Kano has sentenced Abdulrahman Sani Adam to three years in prison for diverting containers under customs supervision and forging official documents to conceal the crime.
Justice Musa Sale delivered the judgment on Wednesday, ordering that the diverted containers be forfeited to the Federal Government for further action. The court also offered the convict an option of a ₦3 million fine in lieu of the custodial sentence.
Adam was charged with criminal diversion and forgery after investigators established that he manipulated customs documentation and unlawfully redirected containers meant to be tracked and processed through official channels.
Speaking to journalists after the ruling, Smart Akande, Director of Legal Services at the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and prosecution counsel, said the convict’s actions deprived the Federal Government of revenue that should have been duly remitted.
He noted that the successful prosecution was intended to deter others who engage in similar offences, including document forgery, illegal diversion of containers, and attempts to circumvent customs procedures.
Akande added that the judgment reaffirmed the NCS’s commitment to closing revenue leakages and tackling fraud within the import-export chain. “We are satisfied with the judgment,” he said, describing it as consistent with legal provisions and supportive of the rule of law.
