Customs Roll Out Major Reforms As Revenue Hits N7.28trn

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has unveiled a major reform agenda aimed at strengthening border security, accelerating cargo clearance and deepening collaboration across the trade ecosystem. This is as it reported a record N7.28 trillion in revenue collection for 2025.

The comptroller general of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi announced the reforms on Monday in Abuja during the 2026 International Customs Day celebration and the official launch of the Nigeria Time Release Study (TRS).

CGC Adeniyi said the new measures were designed to ensure that Customs continues to protect society while facilitating legitimate trade in an increasingly complex global supply chain environment.

According to him, the 2025 revenue performance exceeded the service’s target of N6.58 trillion by N697 billion, representing over 10 per cent growth above target.

Year-on-year, revenue rose from N6.1 trillion in 2024 to N7.28 trillion, an increase of about N1.18 trillion or roughly 19 per cent.

He stressed that the gains were driven not by arbitrary enforcement or increased pressure on compliant traders, but by improved compliance, better use of data, digital tools and disciplined enforcement, supported by closer engagement with the private sector.

The secretary general of the World Customs Organization, Ian Saunders, said annual commemoration of the International Customs Day allows the WCO to draw global attention to priority areas requiring collective action by the customs community.

On her part, the minister of state for Finance,  Doris Uzoka-Anite, said the Time Release Study (TRS) underscored Nigeria’s commitment to evidence-based reforms and global best practices in customs administration, commending the World Customs Organization for its sustained leadership in shaping international standards.

She said the study would support Nigeria’s ease-of-doing-business agenda, enhance competitiveness under the African Continental Free Trade Area, describing the exercise as a clear indication that the Service was aligned with global benchmarks and Nigeria’s national economic priorities.

Uzoka-Anite said the TRS had assumed strategic importance at a time when the Federal Government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was implementing fiscal, monetary and structural reforms to stabilise the macroeconomic environment, strengthen revenue mobilisation and boost investor confidence.

The CGC described the launch of the Time Release Study as a key milestone in Customs’ reform journey. The study, conducted at Tincan Island Port, provides a detailed, data-driven assessment of cargo clearance processes, covering more than 600 declarations.

Findings from the study showed that while examination times are relatively efficient, excessive idle periods caused by fragmented scheduling, manual documentation and poor coordination significantly prolong clearance times. “Our challenge is not that we cannot move goods fast, but that goods are not allowed to move fast,” he said.

Armed with these insights, Customs announced a three-point reform agenda. The service said it intends to invest in intelligence-led and technology-driven enforcement, relying more on risk management, non-intrusive inspection, post-clearance audit and data analytics rather than physical presence alone.

Second, it will institutionalise procedural reforms to reduce clearance times and eliminate avoidable bottlenecks, including synchronized inspections, improved gate coordination and better interoperability among port systems. The Comptroller-General said the TRS would become a regular diagnostic tool rather than a one-off exercise.

Beyond revenue, the comptroller general said officers across ports, airports and land borders disrupted multiple criminal supply chains in 2025, intercepting narcotics, counterfeit medicines, arms, wildlife products and other prohibited items before they reached Nigerian communities.

He disclosed that the service recorded over 2,500 seizures nationwide with an aggregate value exceeding N59 billion. Among notable cases were the interception of 16 containers of prohibited goods worth more than N10 billion at Apapa Port and the seizure of over 1,600 exotic birds trafficked without permits at Nigerian airports.

Adeniyi said such interventions helped prevent addiction, unsafe medical treatment, violent crime and environmental damage.

Part of its reform recommendation is for the Customs board to strengthen partnerships with other government agencies, terminal operators, shipping lines, brokers, financial institutions and international bodies such as the World Customs Organisation, noting that effective trade facilitation requires a fully coordinated port ecosystem.

Saunders stressed that strong and well-equipped customs administrations were indispensable to national and international security, public health, environmental protection, trade facilitation and the integrity of global supply chains, even though these contributions were often not fully recognised.

He added that effective protection of society depended on intelligence sharing, risk management, data analysis, modern detection tools and strong regional and international cooperation.