By NEWSCOUNT Editorial Board
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is one of Nigeria’s major revenue hubs and one of the public institutions whose performance has a direct bearing on the economy. Its responsibility goes beyond collecting duties at the ports and borders. It facilitates legitimate trade, fights smuggling, protects the country against prohibited goods and contributes to national security. What happens in Customs therefore matters to government revenue, businesses, traders and the wider Nigerian public.
It is against this background that NEWSCOUNT considers the tenure of the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, PhD, worthy of commendation. The Service still has challenges, its officers must remain accountable and legitimate businesses must not be subjected to unnecessary difficulties. But the changes recorded under Adeniyi’s leadership are difficult to overlook, particularly when the figures coming from the Service are put side by side with the reforms taking place within it.
The NCS collected N3.206 trillion in 2023 and N6.105 trillion in 2024, before recording N7.277 trillion in 2025. The 2025 figure exceeded the Service’s N6.584 trillion target by N693 billion. For 2026, the Service has an N11.074 trillion revenue target. The growth in collections has placed Customs firmly among the country’s most important revenue generating institutions.
Revenue, however, is only one part of the Adeniyi record. What deserves equal attention is the effort to change how Customs conducts its business. Technology has moved much closer to the centre of the Service’s operations, with B’Odogwu, the indigenous customs management platform, forming a major part of the attempt to reduce manual processes, improve transactions and make Customs operations more efficient.
The National Single Window is another major undertaking. Its purpose is to bring the agencies involved in international trade into a more coordinated system and reduce the duplication and delays that have for years affected the movement of goods. The Authorised Economic Operator programme also gives compliant businesses a more predictable route through Customs, while allowing officers to concentrate greater attention on operators and consignments that present genuine risks.
The Customs Cares Initiative adds another dimension to the record. Through the initiative, the NCS has shown that its responsibilities are not limited to revenue collection, trade facilitation and enforcement. The programme covers areas including education, healthcare, social investment, environmental sustainability, food security and the creative economy. Its interventions provide a social side to an institution that is often viewed mainly through the activities of its officers at the ports and borders. Such initiatives matter because a public institution should also be judged by the positive impact it makes on the people it serves.
That is the direction a modern Customs administration should take. Revenue collection should not come at the expense of legitimate trade. A trader who complies with the law should have reason to remain compliant, while those who deliberately evade Customs requirements should face firm enforcement. At the same time, the Service should remain conscious of its wider responsibility to the communities and citizens affected by its operations.
The enforcement side of the NCS has remained just as important. Customs officers continue to intercept weapons, ammunition, narcotics, counterfeit products, vehicles, petroleum products and other prohibited goods. In 2024, the Service recorded 3,555 seizures with a duty paid value of N35.29 billion, including 900 arms and 113,472 rounds of ammunition. Such operations are not merely about revenue. They are part of the country’s security effort.
Adeniyi’s standing within the international customs community has also grown. He became the first Nigerian to chair the Council of the World Customs Organization in 2025 and was unanimously re elected in 2026. That achievement has given Nigeria a stronger voice in an organisation whose work influences customs administrations and international trade around the world.
At home, the recent engagement between the NCS and the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs deserves particular attention. The two day retreat gave the lawmakers an opportunity to examine the modernisation of Customs, its technology driven operations and the legislative framework guiding the Service. Adeniyi used the engagement to explain the changes taking place and the systems being deployed to improve Customs operations.
The Committee did not end its engagement with the retreat. Its members subsequently visited the Customs Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja, for an oversight inspection. They were taken through the Service’s modernisation programmes, technology driven operations and other reforms. The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Isah Jibrin, commended the changes under Adeniyi, including the improvement in revenue generation, trade facilitation, anti smuggling operations and the use of technology.
That commendation deserves to be noted. The responsibility of a Senate committee is to ask questions, examine the use of public resources and satisfy itself that government agencies are doing their jobs. The Committee went to Customs Headquarters, saw the work and gave its assessment. Its commendation is therefore more meaningful than praise based simply on official presentations.
NEWSCOUNT welcomes such oversight. Customs handles enormous public revenue and operates at some of the country’s most sensitive entry points. It should answer questions whenever questions arise. At the same time, there should be room to acknowledge good work when an institution shows measurable improvement.
The decision by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to extend Adeniyi’s tenure on two occasions adds another important chapter to his time at the helm of the NCS. His first extension was due to expire on August 1, 2026, before the President granted a final six month extension in June 2026, taking his tenure to February 2027. The Presidency said the extension would enable him to consolidate the implementation of the National Single Window and ensure an orderly succession in the Service.
The two extensions are significant. They give Adeniyi additional time to consolidate reforms that are already under way and complete projects that require continuity. They also place a greater responsibility on him to make the remaining months count.
The work ahead is clear. B’Odogwu must continue to improve. The National Single Window must move forward. Revenue collection must remain strong without making legitimate trade unnecessarily difficult. The fight against smuggling must continue, while the systems introduced under Adeniyi should be firmly established within the NCS so that they remain useful after his departure. Customs Cares should also remain part of the Service’s wider engagement with communities and Nigerians who benefit from its interventions.
That is where the lasting value of the reforms will be measured.
Whether in office or out of office, Adeniyi’s wealth of experience will remain valuable to the Nigeria Customs Service and to the country. He has spent decades in Customs, risen through its ranks and served in different capacities before reaching the position of Comptroller General. His knowledge of Customs administration, his exposure to international customs practice and his experience with the reforms now under way will remain useful to the Service long after February 2027, as well as in whatever other calling the future may bring.
Indeed, Adeniyi is about finishing strong.
