BY EMMA PETER, ABUJA
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the fight against money laundering and other financial crimes, pledging to protect Nigeria’s gains following its removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in October 2025.
The Service said sustaining the achievement would require stronger institutional collaboration, effective information sharing and continuous efforts to address existing gaps ahead of Nigeria’s next Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) mutual evaluation.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Kikelomo Adeola, gave the assurance on Monday, October 26, 2026, during a stocktaking meeting at the NCS headquarters in Abuja.
The meeting, organised to assess Nigeria’s preparedness for the forthcoming mutual evaluation, brought stakeholders together to review progress, identify outstanding challenges and strengthen the country’s compliance with international standards on combating illicit financial activities.
Adeola described the exercise as an important opportunity for Nigeria to evaluate its achievements, address weaknesses and consolidate the progress made in strengthening its anti-money laundering framework.
She warned against complacency, stressing that the country must take deliberate steps to prevent a reversal of the gains recorded so far.
“It is an opportunity to take an honest look at the progress Nigeria has made so far, identify the gaps that presently exist and ensure that Nigeria’s achievements are sustained, because if they are not, it is like one step forward, two steps backwards, and that should not be our portion,” she said.
The Deputy Comptroller-General commended the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for its initiatives and programmes aimed at preparing the country for a smooth and successful third mutual evaluation.
Expressing confidence in Nigeria’s ability to maintain its improved standing, Adeola said, “I believe Nigeria will never go back to that grey list.”
She also highlighted the strategic importance of the Customs Service in the national effort, noting that its responsibility for cross-border trade, cargo movement and border enforcement placed it in a critical position to help detect and prevent illicit financial activities.
However, she emphasised that the fight against money laundering could not be won by a single institution, calling for stronger cooperation among relevant agencies.
“A tree does not make a forest,” she said, underscoring the need for collective action to sustain Nigeria’s progress.
Speaking on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hafsat Abubakar, the agency’s Chief Operations Officer for Law Enforcement Support and Coordination, Emmanuel Sotande, thanked the NCS for hosting the meeting and providing an opportunity for constructive engagement with delegates and assessors.
Sotande described the stocktaking exercise as a critical step towards determining how far Nigeria had progressed, identifying unresolved gaps and improving institutional readiness for the next assessment.
He noted that Nigeria’s removal from the FATF grey list in October 2025 was the result of collective efforts by relevant institutions, adding that the priority now was to demonstrate that the progress achieved had translated into lasting and effective implementation of international standards.
According to him, the Customs Service contributes significantly to Nigeria’s anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation framework beyond its traditional responsibilities of revenue generation, trade facilitation and border enforcement.
He explained that the Service’s access to import and export documentation, cargo records, trade information and border intelligence provided valuable leads for identifying suspicious cross-border transactions and activities.
“Customs plays a vital role in detecting suspicious transactions and activities across borders,” Sotande said.
He added that connecting Customs intelligence with financial intelligence gathered by the NFIU through timely information sharing and coordinated operations would strengthen the country’s capacity to uncover illicit networks, trace proceeds of crime and support appropriate enforcement actions.
The meeting therefore underscored the importance of sustained inter-agency cooperation, stronger enforcement mechanisms and continuous institutional improvements as Nigeria prepares for its next mutual evaluation.
For the Customs Service and other relevant agencies, the challenge remains to ensure that the country’s removal from the FATF grey list is not merely a diplomatic milestone but a lasting achievement supported by effective measures against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
