“They took him to the Customs headquarters in Maitama and went straight to the office of an Assistant Comptroller General. He says the ACG brought out a paper, they wrote an agreement, and everybody signed. After that, the man sent the N96 million,”
By Sanni Abdullahi
ABUJA — Popular critic and social media activist, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, VDM, has exposed an alleged N96 million container auction scam said to have been carried out inside the Nigeria Customs Service headquarters in Maitama, Abuja.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, VDM alleged that a man paid N96 million for 8 containers of cars inside the Customs headquarters and none of the containers exists.
VDM says a man paid N96 million for 8 containers of cars inside the Customs headquarters in Abuja. And not one of those containers exists.
According to VDM, the incident began when a longtime friend told the victim that Customs wanted to sell some containers at an auction.
“The price was N12 million per container. The man said he would not pay until he saw the Customs office himself. So he booked their flights, and they all travelled to Abuja,” VDM narrated.
He explained that on arrival in Abuja, they were taken directly to the Nigeria Customs Service headquarters in Maitama and straight to the office of an Assistant Comptroller General, ACG.
“They took him to the Customs headquarters in Maitama and went straight to the office of an Assistant Comptroller General. He says the ACG brought out a paper, they wrote an agreement, and everybody signed. After that, the man sent the N96 million,” VDM said.
VDM disclosed that from the transfer receipt sighted, the N96,000,000 was paid on 29 July 2026 into a GTBank account.
“From the transfer receipt, the N96,000,000 was paid on 29 July 2026 into a GTBank account,” he said.
After the payment was made, the man waited for months, but no container was delivered.
“After that, the man waited, and no container came. The paper they gave him said there were four cars in each container. But when it was checked, the containers did not exist,” he alleged.
In a more disturbing twist, VDM claimed that the only container that was traced in the system allegedly contained tramadol, a controlled substance, and not cars.
“The only real one has tramadol inside”, VDM says, adding “if the man had gone to clear it, he could have been arrested for bringing in drugs”.
The social media activist also alleged that the victim sought legal redress but suffered a setback in court.
“The man also went to court. And the judge stepped away from the case because she knows the ACG’s wife,” he claimed.
VDM said he has chosen not to reveal the identities of those allegedly involved for now because the victim’s priority is to recover his money.
VDM says he won’t show their faces for now, because the man wants the money back. He is calling on the ACG, who he says would retire in January, to complete the N96 million before he releases their pictures to the internet.
As at the time of filing this report, the Nigeria Customs Service has not issued an official statement in response to the allegation.
The alleged scam has sparked outrage on social media, with many Nigerians calling on the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to investigate the matter thoroughly and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice.
VeryDarkMan, known for his fearless exposés on alleged corruption and fraud, said he will release full identities and documents if the money is not refunded.
All efforts to get the reaction of the Nigeria Customs Service were unsuccessful as at press time.
