Customs Orders Immediate Rollout of Anti-Corruption Framework Nationwide

By Adebola Muili

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, has directed the immediate implementation of a new anti-corruption framework across all zones, commands and units of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

Adeniyi gave the directive on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, after signing the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Conducting Internal Corruption Risk Analysis and Mapping (ICRAM), the ICRAM Handbook and the Integrity Action Plan at the NCS Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja.

The development also saw the formal activation of the ICRAM Steering Committee, tasked with strengthening the Service’s systematic approach to identifying, assessing and mapping corruption risks across its operational and administrative processes.

The framework followed a pilot exercise conducted across seven key commands and units, covering 66 processes in regulatory, core Customs and support functions.

The pilot locations included Apapa Area Command under the sea modality; Murtala Muhammed Cargo and Murtala Muhammed International Airport 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 units.

According to Adeniyi, the documents were developed as practical tools to enable Customs officers operating at ports, borders and airports to identify corruption risks within their areas of responsibility and take targeted measures to address them.

He said the framework was the product of collaboration between an internal NCS team, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and other Customs administrations, including His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

“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.

The pilot exercise resulted in an Integrity Action Plan containing 101 action items and 295 sub-action items, with emphasis on measures designed to strengthen controls and reduce opportunities for corruption.

Key areas identified for action include enhanced automation, stronger supervision and accountability, improved audit trails and traceability, clear segregation of duties, regular staff rotation, targeted training and stronger controls in interactions between officers and stakeholders.

Adeniyi said the framework would provide officers with a practical and straightforward process for conducting corruption risk mapping and implementing measures contained in the action plan.

“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, Nafi’u Isyaku, who led senior officers in presenting the documents, sought approval for their full implementation across the Service.