Nigeria Customs Service has commenced the sealing up of warehouses of four defaulting rice importers.

“The action is intended to give a bite to several letters of warming and ultimatum to the beneficiaries of rice import quota policy who imported in excess of their approved quotas. The affected importers are: Olam, Stallion/Popular Foods/Masco Agro, Ebony Agro and

Conti Agro (Milan),” Deputy Public Relations Officer Joseph Attah said yesterday in a statement signed for Comptroller-General of Customs Abdullahi Inde.

“The defaulting rice importers have refused to pay their total debt profile of N23,603,479,402.44,” Attah added.

He said that “in addition to the sealing up of their warehouses, the importers and their sister or associated Companies have been blocked from the Customs NICIS system, meaning they will not be able to make further declaration and or not be allowed to discharge.

“To ensure that every amount owed Federal Government is recovered, a full scale legal action will be instituted against them.

“Nigeria Customs Service wishes to assure the Public that it is not averse to concessions that help to engineer economic growth but will not relent on its role of holding beneficiaries accountable to their obligations.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Genuine Importers are hereby advised not to exercise any fear as NCS action is only about enforcing payments that are legitimately due to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”