Customs Joins Forces with Six Agencies to Tackle Money Laundering, Illicit Financial Flows
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has engaged six federal government agencies in a push to strengthen inter-agency collaboration against cross-border illicit financial flows, money laundering, corruption, drug trafficking, terrorism financing and related offences.
The three-day engagement, held from 27 to 29 October 2026, was led by the Assistant Comptroller-General in charge of Headquarters, Muhammad Shuaibu. It focused on deepening strategic cooperation and intelligence sharing among the agencies to combat financial crimes and other illicit activities.
The agencies visited were the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), and the National Counter-Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Speaking during the engagements, Shuaibu said the initiative was designed to improve coordination in addressing threats to Nigeria’s economy and national security.
“The sole objective of this mission is to effectively detect and disrupt cross-border illicit financial flows,” he said.
He added that the measures include field visits to selected border stations to assess practical Customs control measures and to engage with relevant agencies.
Representing the NFIU’s Chief Executive Officer, its Chief Operating Officer, Intelligence Security Service Sector, Muhammed-Mustapha, commended the NCS for its efforts in combating smuggling and reinforcing border security. He also noted the long-standing relationship between the two institutions.
“When the NFIU was created, the NCS was the first to collaborate with us,” Mustapha said. “No particular agency understands things better than how Customs does globally.”
Meanwhile, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Mentoring Team, led by Shahiduzzaman Sarkar, interacted with the agencies on approaches to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT).
The team also called for stronger collaboration with the NCS to ensure the initiative’s success.
During the discussions, participants identified communication gaps, bureaucracy and database privacy concerns, among other issues, as obstacles to effective inter-agency collaboration. They also explored measures to address these challenges and strengthen institutional synergy.
The engagements also featured the presentation of NCS awards and WCO certificates to the agencies, underscoring the Service’s commitment to enhancing collaboration in tackling threats to Nigeria’s economy and national security.
