The Nigeria Customs Service has unveiled plans to strengthen intelligence-driven enforcement through the deployment of artificial intelligence, advanced scanners and electronic cargo tracking systems to tackle smuggling, internal corruption and other emerging security threats.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, said the service must move beyond conventional enforcement methods and embrace technology, stronger inter-agency collaboration and professional policing to address increasingly sophisticated criminal networks.
Adeniyi also warned that customs officers must be held accountable for their actions, insisting that the exercise of police powers must be guided by the law, restraint and respect for human rights.
He stated this at the inaugural Customs Police Summit 2026, organised by the Customs Police Unit held on Thursday in Abuja, where he outlined measures to reposition the unit for more effective internal discipline and border enforcement.
He said criminal networks were becoming increasingly sophisticated, exploiting legitimate trade routes to move firearms and their components, narcotics, counterfeit medicines, protected wildlife and illicit funds, often through digital channels.
“I stand before you in two capacities: as Comptroller-General of Customs and as Chairperson of the WCO Council. From both positions, one truth is clear. Customs must facilitate legitimate trade and stop illicit trade and it can do neither without a disciplined and trusted police unit to uphold its own standards.
“Our history teaches three lessons. First, charity begins at home. Before we demand integrity from traders and the public, we must show it ourselves. Second, authority requires restraint. The NCS Act 2023 gives us police powers, but every search, arrest and detention must rest on lawful grounds and withstand public and judicial scrutiny. Third, enforcement in isolation fails. Coordinated initiatives such as the One-Stop Shop have shown that enforcement and facilitation work best together.
“Criminal networks have grown more sophisticated. They use the same routes as legitimate traders to move firearm components, narcotics, fake medicines, protected wildlife and illicit funds, often through digital channels.
“Our answer must be smarter, not harder. WCO instruments such as the SAFE Framework, the Authorised Economic Operator programme, advance rulings, the Time Release Study and the Revised Kyoto Convention reward compliance and free officers to focus on real risk. They also reduce the room for abuse and corruption,” he said.
