The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has pledged to strengthen its role in detecting suspicious cross-border transactions and disrupting illicit financial flows as Nigeria prepares for its next international assessment of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures.
The Service said it would sustain the gains that led to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force, FATF, grey list on October 24, 2025, stressing the need for stronger inter-agency collaboration to prevent a reversal of the progress made.
The Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Kikelomo Adeola, who represented the Comptroller-General, Adewale Adeniyi, gave the assurance at a stocktaking meeting held at the Customs headquarters in Abuja ahead of Nigeria’s next Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism, AML/CFT, mutual evaluation.
Adeola described the exercise as an opportunity to assess the country’s progress, identify outstanding gaps and develop strategies to sustain the gains recorded in strengthening its financial integrity framework.
She warned against complacency, noting that failure to consolidate existing achievements could undermine the progress that secured Nigeria’s removal from the FATF grey list.
“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.
Adeola commended the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, for coordinating initiatives aimed at preparing the country for a successful mutual evaluation, expressing confidence that Nigeria would not return to the FATF grey list.
“I believe Nigeria will never go back to that grey list,” she declared.
She noted that the Customs Service occupies a strategic position in the fight against illicit financial activities because of its responsibilities for cross-border trade, cargo movement and border enforcement.
However, she stressed that the Service could not tackle the challenge in isolation, calling for stronger cooperation among relevant institutions.
“A tree does not make a forest,” she said.
Also speaking, the NFIU Chief Executive Officer, Hafsat Abubakar, represented by the Chief Operations Officer, Law Enforcement Support and Coordination, Emmanuel Sotande, said the stocktaking meeting would help assess institutional preparedness, identify remaining weaknesses and strengthen Nigeria’s compliance with international standards.
Sotande described Nigeria’s removal from the FATF grey list in October 2025 as a collective achievement, adding that the priority was now to demonstrate sustained and effective implementation of measures against money laundering and terrorism financing.
He said the Customs Service’s contribution extended beyond revenue collection, trade facilitation and border enforcement to include the detection of suspicious activities linked to cross-border transactions.
According to him, the Service’s access to import and export documentation, cargo records, trade information and border intelligence provides critical support for financial investigations.
“When these capabilities are effectively connected through timely information sharing and coordinated action, we are better positioned to identify suspicious networks, trace illicit proceeds and support appropriate enforcement measures,” he said.
The NFIU official emphasised that effective coordination between Customs and financial intelligence authorities would be crucial to identifying illicit financial networks and supporting enforcement actions.
The stocktaking exercise forms part of Nigeria’s preparations for its next AML/CFT mutual evaluation, which will assess how effectively the country’s institutions implement measures designed to protect the financial system from abuse.
