By Saidu Idris
An Abuja based human rights activist, Sesugh Akume, has approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, to challenge the recent trend of destruction of alcoholic beverages (beer) in some parts of northern Nigeria, especially, Kano, on account of religious belief.
Sesugh said the act amounted to economic sabotage and hypocrisy.
He sought the court to, among other things, determine whether the “manufacture/production, transportation/haulage, distribution, sales, consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages is forbidden in Nigeria by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or any extant federal law.
In addition, he asked the court to determine “whether the wilful destruction of alcoholic beverage bottles and wasting the content thereof is economic sabotage.”
Furthermore, he queried, “Whether it is a contradiction destroying alcoholic beverage bottles and wasting the content whilst benefiting from Value Added Tax (VAT) from alcoholic beverages.”
Last November, Kano State Hisbah Board destroyed 1,975,000 bottles of beer worth over N200 million confiscated within Kano metropolis.
Akume contends that apart from the adverse impact on Nigeria’s economy, as the nation derives huge revenue from the manufacture and sales of beer through Value Added Tax (VAT) which is shared by both the federal and state governments, it is hypocritical by the states involved to claim the revenue but prohibit the distribution and sales of alcohol in their domain.
In Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/ 275…2021, he is seeking the interpretation of Sections 1(3), 4(5), 162(3),(4), and 163, of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Section 6(1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act 2004.
The two respondents in the court originating summons, exclusively obtained by 365Daily, are the Attorney General of the Federation and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Akume, in his supporting affidavit, said that he has read both the Constitution and the EFCC Act and found the act of destroying beer and its distribution and storage facilities anomalous, as such runs contrary to the constitution, which overrides any other piece of legislation in Nigeria.
According to him, in the court documents dated March 4, 2021, “the constitution does not forbid the production, transportation, distribution, sake, consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages.”
For instance, after the recent destruction of alcoholic beverages in Kano, the governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje, said: “Even in Kano we have banned the consumption of beer in all parts of the state.”
He argued that breweries, bottling and beverage sector is is the 4th highest contributors of VAT to the economy, after professional services, other manufacturing and commerce, according to records at the National Bureau of Statistics.
According to him, “Between January and September 2019 alone, the sector contributed N31.8 billion in VAT to the economy, and N14.33 billion in the first quarter of 2020.”
In spite of this, Akume posited that some states have been “notorious for destroying alcoholic beverage bottles, wasting the content and even arresting and prosecuting those involved in the production, transportation, distribution, sales, consumption or possession alcoholic beverages”, contrary to the position of the laws of the land, as enshrined in the constitution.”
It is his view that states that do not appreciate monies “sourced from VAT from alcohol may pass laws in their respective Houses of Assembly to (and Legislative Councils for local government areas) to refund such amounts to the Federal Government, or donate to others who would appreciate same.”
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