BY EMMA PETER, ABUJA
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has signed key anti-corruption documents and directed their immediate implementation across all zones, commands and units of the Service.
The documents, comprising the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Conducting Internal Corruption Risk Analysis and Mapping (ICRAM), the ICRAM Handbook and the Integrity Action Plan (IAP), were signed on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, during a ceremony at the NCS Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja.
As part of the ceremony, Adeniyi formally activated the ICRAM Steering Committee, strengthening the Service’s institutional framework for identifying, assessing and mapping corruption risks across its operational and administrative processes.
The Customs boss said the documents were developed through a collaborative process involving an internal NCS team, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and partner Customs administrations, including His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
According to him, the initiative was designed to ensure that integrity remains at the centre of Customs operations.
“These two documents are products of a painstaking process which we have undertaken with efforts from an internal team working together with our partners from the WCO and a number of other Customs administrations that have walked this path with us to ensure that we have a Service where integrity leads,” Adeniyi said.
He explained that the documents would serve as practical tools for Customs officers operating at ports, borders and airports to identify corruption risks within their respective areas and implement appropriate measures to address them.
“We want to believe that we have laid a practical step, very easy to follow, for all our operatives at the ports, the borders, and the airports, to be able to conduct corruption risk mapping in their places, giving them the opportunity and capacity to implement the action plan to instil integrity in our system,” he added.
Earlier, the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of the Strategic Research and Policy Department, ACG Nafi’u Isyaku, led senior officers in presenting the documents to the Comptroller-General and sought approval for their full implementation across the Service.
The ICRAM methodology had earlier undergone a pilot exercise in seven strategic commands and units of the NCS, covering 66 processes across regulatory, core Customs and support functions.
The pilot covered the Apapa Area Command under the sea modality; Murtala Muhammed Cargo (MMAC) and Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Commands under the air modality; Seme Area Command under the land modality; and the Customs Police Unit Zone A, PAAR Ruling Centre and Procurement Unit as specialised areas.
The exercise resulted in the development of a comprehensive Integrity Action Plan containing 101 Action Items and 295 Sub-Action Items.
The identified intervention areas include increased automation, stronger supervision and accountability, improved audit trails and traceability, clear separation of duties, regular staff rotation, targeted capacity-building and enhanced controls in the relationship between officers and stakeholders.
The NCS said the rollout of the framework is expected to provide a structured approach to identifying vulnerabilities and strengthening integrity safeguards across its operations.
