The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has strengthened its partnership with six federal agencies to tackle cross-border financial crimes, including money laundering, illicit financial flows, drug trafficking and terrorism financing.
The three-day engagement, held from October 27 to 29, 2026, focused on improving intelligence sharing, operational coordination and institutional capacity to address threats to Nigeria’s economy and national security.
The exercise was led by the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Headquarters, Muhammad Shuaibu.
The agencies involved were the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the National Counter-Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Speaking during the engagements, Shuaibu said the initiative was designed to strengthen cooperation and improve efforts to detect and disrupt illicit financial flows across Nigeria’s borders.
He explained that the exercise would also involve visits to selected border stations to assess Customs control measures and engage relevant agencies on practical ways to address the problem.
NFIU Commends Customs Collaboration
The Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, represented by the Chief Operating Officer of its Intelligence Security Service Sector, Muhammed-Mustapha, commended Customs for its contributions to the fight against smuggling and the strengthening of border security.
He described the relationship between both institutions as longstanding, noting that the NCS was among the first agencies to collaborate with the NFIU after its establishment.
WCO Calls for Stronger AML and CFT Measures
The World Customs Organisation (WCO) Mentoring Team, led by Shahiduzzaman Sarkar, also engaged the participating agencies on strategies to strengthen Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) measures.
The team called for deeper cooperation with Customs to ensure the successful implementation of the initiative.
During the discussions, participants identified poor communication, bureaucratic delays and concerns over database privacy as major obstacles to effective information sharing.
They also explored ways to address these challenges through improved communication channels, stronger institutional relationships and better coordination.
The engagements ended with the presentation of NCS awards and WCO certificates to participating agencies in recognition of their contributions.
The collaboration is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s ability to identify suspicious financial activities, tackle organised cross-border crimes and protect its economic and national security interests.
