The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the final seizure, condemnation and forfeiture of a Bombardier BD-700 Global 6000 private jet with Registration Mark 9H-GVG and Manufacturer’s Serial No. 9470, operated by Orlean Invest Africa Limited, to the Federal Government of Nigeria for failure to pay customs duty since 2015.
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Delivering judgment in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1085/2025 on Thursday, January 22, 2026, Justice J.K. Omotosho held that the respondents failed to show cause why the order of final seizure, condemnation and forfeiture should not be made against them.
The court found that Orlean Invest Africa Limited had imported the Bombardier BD-700 Global 6000 into Nigeria on October 26, 2015, as a non-commercial private aircraft but neglected to pay import duty or obtain a Temporary Import Permit, which constituted a breach of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
Justice Omotosho held that the penalty for such breach is seizure and forfeiture under Section 246(a) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
“The Respondents submitted no proof of payment of custom duties and in fact have deprived the Federal Government of Nigeria revenue by failing to pay custom duty on the 2nd Respondent,” the judge stated.
In a strongly-worded judgment, Justice Omotosho condemned the practice of using foreign registration to evade customs duties while operating aircraft in Nigeria.
“From all the processes filed by the Respondents they have failed to show cause why the 2nd Respondent should not be forfeited. Proof of payment of custom duty would have helped its case but it failed to exhibit same,” the court held.
“The failure to pay any custom duty since importing the 2nd Respondent into Nigeria is a grave breach of the law and affects the revenue flow of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Hiding under a foreign ownership to operate aircraft in Nigeria for years is nothing more than an attempt to cheat the Government of revenue due it.”
The Nigeria Customs Service had assessed the custom duty liability of Orlean Invest Africa Limited at N1,044,493,295.54 (One Billion, Forty-Four Million, Four Hundred and Ninety-Three Thousand, Two Hundred and Ninety-Five Naira, Fifty-Four Kobo).
According to the judgment, the Customs Service stated that the aircraft was imported into the country on October 26, 2015, without any permit, approval or payment of the required customs duty. A Temporary Admission Permit ought to have been obtained before importing the aircraft into Nigeria, and the respondent ought to have undertaken in the Temporary Import Permit to re-export the aircraft out of Nigeria at the expiration of the approved period, which ranges from 1-2 years.
The respondents had argued that the aircraft is a foreign-registered aircraft currently listed on the Civil Aviation Register of Malta and operates international charter under lawful regulatory regimes. They claimed the aircraft is recorded with Elit’Avia Malta Ltd as the registered owner and operator.
The respondents also contended that the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023 does not operate retrospectively as the events complained about happened before the Act was made. They further argued that they had obtained a Maintenance Clearance Certificate (MCC) and Flight Operations Clearance Certificate (FOCC) from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
However, Justice Omotosho rejected these arguments, noting that Section 280(1)-(4) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023 contains a savings clause that preserves all obligations under the repealed Customs and Excise Act.
The court noted that by virtue of a Notice/Circular dated January 17, 2017 issued by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, all airlines and aircraft owners/operators importing aircraft into Nigeria for permanent or temporary operations in both commercial and general aviation operations are required to obtain appropriate Import Clearance and Payment of Duties or Temporary Import Permit from the Nigeria Customs Service.
“The Respondents neglected to comply with this notice/circular and failed to pay import duty or obtain Temporary Import Permit from the Applicant. The Respondents submitted no proof of payment of custom duties and in fact have deprived the Federal Government of Nigeria revenues by failing to pay custom duty on the 2nd Respondent,” Justice Omotosho held.
The case was instituted by the Nigeria Customs Service following an audit exercise conducted on private airlines operating in Nigerian airspace in 2024 to determine the regularity of their operations in the context of importation and exportation processes under the Customs laws of Nigeria.
The verification exercise was conducted between June 19 and July 19, 2024. The Nigeria Customs Service discovered that many private aircraft operated in violation of payment of appropriate duties and accordingly issued warning notices to that effect.
The court had earlier granted an interim order of seizure and detention of the aircraft on June 17, 2025, and directed the respondents to show cause why the aircraft should not be condemned and forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The final pronouncement of the court reads: “THIS HONOURABLE COURT HEREBY ORDERS the final seizure, condemnation and forfeiture of BOMBARDIER BD-700 GLOBAL 6000 with Registration Mark 9H-GVG and Manufacturer’s Serial No. 9470 (the 2nd Respondent) at any airport in Nigeria to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
Commenting on the judgment, Mr. Okon N. Efut, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Principal Partner of Okon N. Efut, SAN & Associates, Counsel to the Nigeria Customs Service, commended the courage of the judiciary in ensuring that extant laws were complied with by all irrespective of their status.
He noted that the judgment was groundbreaking, being the first of its kind in Nigeria.
Dr. Emmanuel Zungwem Agbakor Esq. with Lucky Arikpo Esq. and Lucia Francis Omoga Esq. appeared for the Nigeria Customs Service, while Ama Etuwewe SAN with Fortress Ogele Esq. appeared for the respondents.
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