Court remands three suspected smugglers in Ogun

Three alleged smugglers have been remanded in custody for alleged forgery and smuggling by a Federal High Court in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The Ikeja Zone "A" Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service filed the lawsuit, and on Tuesday, the presiding judge, Ademola Ajayi, issued the ruling.

Ismail Shaibu, Jimoh Yakubu, and Abdullahi Muazu, the defendants, were charged with two charges of forgery and conspiracy by faking NCS documents when they appeared in court.

Two of the three defendants are accused of forging the NCS "Exit Note" in order to avoid paying the appropriate duties to the government, according to the prosecution attorney, Vivian Aigbadon, who testified in court.

Aigbadon claimed that while Muazu was being tried for the unlawful importation of a Toyota Rav-4 car and some sacks of imported parboiled rice, Shaibu and Yakubu were both facing trials for conspiracy and fraud.

The defendants committed the crimes between January and February 2023 at Owode Idi-Iroko Road in the state's Yewa South Local Government Area, according to the prosecutor, who is also an assistant legal adviser with NCS.

Shaibu and Yakubu, the first and second defendants, she claimed, "conspired to forge Nigeria Customs Service documents, Exit Note declaration form, Ports and Terminal Multi-Services Limited Provision Assessment form, knowing the documents to be false and with the intent that the documents may in any way, be used and acted upon as genuine.

“The third defendant (Muazu) was arrested on March 16 along Ajilete Owode in Yewa South after importing a 2010 Toyota Rav-4 Utility vehicle without payment of Duty payable.”

According to Aigbadon, the offence was under the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap. M17 Law of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and was penalized under Section 1 (2) (C).

To the accusations, the three defendants entered a plea of not guilty.

Therefore, the prosecution requested a trial and requested that the accused be held in a detention facility.

However, the defence attorneys for the defendants requested bail for their clients.

The three suspects will remain behind bars until May 16, 2023, when the bail applications will be heard, according to the judge's decision in the case.

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