2025 Customs Day: CGC Adeniyi lists achievements of Nigeria Customs

The Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, yesterday listed various successes recorded by the Service under his leadership in 2024 as Nigeria joined the rest of the global customs community to mark the 2025 International Customs Day, in Abuja.

The International Customs Day is celebrated globally annually on January 26. It was however marked by the Service on Monday January 27, 2025. The World Customs Organization’s (WCO) theme for 2025,  was “Customs Delivering on its Commitment to Efficiency, Security, and Prosperity.”

Adeniyi noted that this significant occasion provides a vital platform to evaluate our achievements of the preceding year, reinforce our commitments, and strategically position ourselves for the evolving demands of customs administration across nations.

According to the Customs boss, that we gather today, on the 27th, highlights the significance of this important celebration despite it falling on a weekend this year.

The World Customs Organization’s (WCO) theme for 2025, “Customs Delivering on its Commitment to Efficiency, Security, and Prosperity,” perfectly encapsulates the foundational mandates of the NCS. These core responsibilities – facilitating legitimate trade, securing our national borders, and fostering economic growth – form the bedrock of our operations. Our strategic approach harmoniously balances trade facilitation with robust security measures, directly contributing to Nigeria’s economic advancement. The Service’s unprecedented achievement of ₦6.1 trillion in revenue collection, coupled with significant security interventions, exemplifies our practical commitment to these mandates.

In pursuit of operational efficiency, the Service has made significant strides in modernizing our processes and procedures. Our commitment to efficiency is evidenced by several key achievements over the years. Notably, the successful implementation of the Advanced Ruling System, providing binding decisions on classification and valuation before shipment arrival, thereby reducing clearance delays and disputes, is one of the resent reference to our efforts to deliver efficiency. Moreover, the remarkable success of our Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program, which has achieved an average release time of 43 hours for certified companies, representing a 66.9% reduction in cargo clearance time is another recent instance. Over the years the Service has modernised its processes to make the trading experience soothing for Nigerians. Late last year we announced the indigenous development and deployment of our customs clearance platform, ‘B’Odogwu’, which has already processed transactions worth billions in revenue within its pilot phase.

In terms Security, globally there is increasingly a complex interplay between illicit trade, technological advancement, and transnational criminal networks. In addressing these challenges, the Service like other Customs Administations, focuses on several critical risk domains identified by the World Customs Organization, the include:

a. Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-terrorism Financing. We maintain vigilance against bulk cash smuggling, trade-based money laundering, and illicit trafficking of high-value commodities.

b. Cultural Heritage Protection. Our enforcement efforts safeguard against the illicit trafficking of cultural objects and artifacts, particularly given increasing global concerns about trafficking from conflict zones. 

c. Drug Trafficking. We have intensified our response to evolving narcotics threats, particularly addressing the shift from traditional narcotics to pharmaceutical and synthetic drug abuse. In 2024, this resulted in 105 seizures of narcotics and illicit drugs. 

d. Environmental Protection. Our enforcement actions against wildlife trafficking, illegal timber trade, and hazardous waste smuggling saw significant success, with 76 seizures of animal/wildlife products valued at ₦5.93 billion.

The Service is also has strengthening its technological infrastructure through: a. Integration of geo-spatial technology and advanced detection methods. b. Deployment of sophisticated scanning systems at key ports. c. Enhanced intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities. d. Implementation of technology driven risk assessment protocols.

The Service demonstrated exceptional fiscal performance in 2024, collecting ₦6.1 trillion in revenue which exceeded targets by 20.2% and represented a dramatic 90.4% year-over-year increase. Our trade facilitation efforts were equally impressive, managing imports valued at ₦60.29 trillion and exports of ₦136.65 trillion, while strategically providing ₦1.68 trillion in concessions to boost economic growth and industrial development across various sectors. These achievements are the highlights of our contribution to national prosperity through both revenue generation and trade facilitation.

Looking ahead, guided by this year’s theme “Customs Delivering on its Commitment to Efficiency, Security, and Prosperity,” our strategic vision aligns seamlessly with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration’s policy direction and global customs best practices, focusing on transformative initiatives that will revolutionize trade facilitation and enforcement. The nationwide trade modernization deployment, comprehensive AEO program implementation, enhanced technology-driven risk management, and the groundbreaking establishment of the Nigeria Customs Service University for Trade and Technology will serve as additional key performance indicators as we evaluate our achievements at the end of the year.

Moving forward, we will continue to rely on the unwavering support of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Olawale Edun, alongside the dedication of our officers, men, stakeholders, and international partners to achieve and surpass our performance targets. As we commemorate International Customs Day, we renew our pledge to excellence in customs administration, united in our mission to forge a more secure and prosperous Nigeria through efficient service delivery.