Customs Arrests Ex-FCT Minister Bala’s Son For Underpaying Luxury Vehicle Duty…Accused Of Paying N300,000 Instead Of N124m

Operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit, Zone A, Ikeja Lagos on Friday, arrested Abdullahi Bala, the son of the former Minister of FCT, Sen Bala Mohammed for alleged import duty underpayment on his exotic vehicle, a McClaren 650s coupe.

A top Customs source who confirmed Abdullahi as the former FCT Minister’s son said ‎investigations to unravel whether there were other vehicles in his custody that either underpaid or evaded duty payment, was ongoing.

According to the Spokesman of the Unit, Uche Ejesieme, the vehicle’s duty ought to be N124 million but upon investigations, it was discovered a mere N300,000 was paid, thus defrauding the government of about N123,700,000.

Ejesieme said the man has been released on bail, while investigation into the matter was ongoing. “The man claims to be former minister’s son. He was arrested on Friday. But has been released on bail since it’s a bailable offence. The investigation is ongoing at least to know how he was able to get away with paying just over N300,000. Our Officer in Charge of the Legal department says the duty should be about N124 million”, the Spokesman stated.

Findings also show the vehicle costs about $280,000 (over N800 million) in the US. The MaClaren 650S Coupé starts at USD $265,500 and USD $280,225 for the 650S Spider in the US, while in Canada, pricing is CAD $287,000 and CAD $305,500 respectively. It is a sport car in the range of the Ferrari and other luxurious coupes.

The latest addition to the McLaren range accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.9 seconds, and can reach 100 mph in just 5.7 seconds. The standing quarter mile takes 10.5 seconds, and top speed is 207 mph in Coupé form. This performance puts the latest model from McLaren 0.6 sec faster over the standing quarter mile than the iconic McLaren F1 road car, and a full second quicker to 124 mph, underlining its performance focus.