Secrets Reporters
The Nigeria Customs Service has asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to order the final forfeiture of three aircraft connected in its case to oil businessman Sayyu Dantata, the half-brother of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, over an alleged N2,312,946,260.00 customs-duty shortfall, SecretsReporters can authoritatively
The motion names Dantata, Bestaf Services Ltd and Metro Capital Ltd as respondents and seeks final seizure, condemnation and forfeiture of a Beechcraft King Air 350i, a Gulfstream G550 and a Robinson R66 helicopter. Customs alleges that the aircraft were brought into Nigeria without the declaration, permit, approval or payment required for permanently based private aircraft.
Dantata is the founder and chairman of MRS Holdings, the downstream petroleum group. He is widely known Exclusiveas Aliko Dangote’s half-brother and a member of the Kano-based Dantata business dynasty.
Customs’ own duty claim places the three aircraft at about ₦46.3 billion
Customs stated that the applicable import duty was five per cent of the aircraft’s value and alleged that the unpaid duty and associated charges totalled exactly ₦2,312,946,260.00. Applying the Service’s pleaded five-per-cent rate to that sum produces an implied combined aircraft value of ₦46.3 billion.
The calculation is ₦2,312,946,260 divided by 0.05, giving ₦46,258,925,200. It is a value derived from Customs’ own duty computation in the court papers, not a separate appraisal of the specific aircraft.
Available aircraft-market pricing shows the scale of the fleet. A 2018 Gulfstream G550 market overview listed a 2013 model at about $29.9 million, while King Air 350i aircraft of comparable vintage have appeared at roughly $3.5 million to $5.4 million. Those figures place the G550 and King Air alone in the region of $35 million before adding the Robinson helicopter which more than ₦100 billion at prevailing exchange rates, although an aircraft’s actual value depends on hours, maintenance, equipment and condition.
The forfeiture target includes a Gulfstream G550, King Air 350i and Robinson R66
The first aircraft identified in the filing is a 2011 Beechcraft King Air 350i carrying registration mark N4045A/SN-FMS and manufacturer’s serial number FL-750. The second is a 2013 Gulfstream G550 with registration mark N169SD and manufacturer’s serial number 5455. The long-range G550 is the highest-value aircraft identified in the papers and accounts for the bulk of the market value suggested by comparable listings.
The third is a 2018 Robinson R66 helicopter with registration mark N69D. Customs grouped all three aircraft in the same application and asked the court to treat them as liable to final forfeiture under the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
Customs alleges the aircraft entered Nigeria without declaration or duty payment
In the grounds supporting its motion, Customs alleged that the three aircraft were imported on 28 August 2014 and 16 June 2006, respectively, without declaration, permit, approval or payment of the required duty. The motion states only those two dates for the three aircraft and does not specify in the reproduced grounds which date applies to each aircraft.
The Service told the court that permanently domiciled or resident private aircraft are subject to import duty and that the government-fixed rate applicable to the aircraft in this case was five per cent of value.
Customs further alleged that the respondents evaded the statutory duty, taxes and levies by importing the aircraft and by misrepresenting or failing to declare their actual purpose and status when they entered the country. It said its private-aircraft verification exercise recently uncovered the alleged non-payment, which it described as depriving the Federal Government of ₦2,312,946,260.00 in customs revenue.
On Customs’ case, that alleged conduct engages sections 245(1), 245(2), 245(3) and 246(a) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, provisions the Service cited as making the aircraft liable to seizure, detention and forfeiture. The motion was also brought under paragraph 8 of the Schedule to the Act and the court’s inherent jurisdiction.
The motion asks the court to hand ownership and disposal powers to Customs
The application is not for an interim preservation order. It is a motion for final forfeiture dated June 2026, asking the Federal High Court to permanently remove the aircraft from the respondents.
First, Customs seeks an order of final seizure, condemnation and forfeiture of the Beechcraft, Gulfstream and Robinson aircraft under sections 245 and 246 of the Customs Act. Second, it wants ownership, control and possession vested in the Nigeria Customs Service for and on behalf of the Federal Government.
The third order sought would authorize Customs to dispose of, manage or otherwise deal with the aircraft in accordance with the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and any other applicable law. Customs said the order was necessary to prevent the aircraft from being removed from Nigeria and frustrating enforcement.
The affidavit supporting the application was deposed to by Simi Adamson of the Legal Department of the Nigeria Customs Service. She stated that she was conversant with the facts of the case and had the Service’s authority to swear to the filing.
The court cover names the Nigeria Customs Service as applicant and Sayyu Dantata, Bestaf Services Ltd and Metro Capital Ltd as the three respondents. The suit number is partly handwritten and not fully legible in the supplied copy. The cover also carries a handwritten filing endorsement that appears to read 9/1/26, while the motion itself is dated June 2026.
The application is one of the largest private-aircraft forfeiture actions disclosed in Nigeria by the amount pleaded, targeting three high-value aircraft in a case that includes the half-brother of Africa’s richest man. The ₦46.3 billion value is derived from Customs’ own five-per-cent duty computation, while the ₦2.312 billion figure is the precise revenue shortfall alleged in the motion.
The allegations remain claims made by the Nigeria Customs Service in its court filings. They have not been established by a final judicial decision, and the Federal High Court had yet to rule on the forfeiture request in the papers reviewed.
SecretsReporters judicial reporter was in court to note that the case has been adjourned to 22nd October 2026 for continuation of hearing.
