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Customs Pledges to Protect Grey List Exit, Strengthen Border Intelligence Sharing
By Prince Benson Davies
The Nigeria Customs Service has reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining Nigeria’s fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, vowing to ensure the country’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list is not reversed.
The Service described Nigeria’s exit from the grey list on 24 October 2025 as a major national achievement that must be protected through stronger inter-agency cooperation, effective border controls and continuous reforms.
The pledge was made on Monday, 26 October 2026, at a stocktaking meeting held at the Customs headquarters in Abuja, convened to prepare Nigeria for its upcoming 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, DCG Kikelomo Adeola, said the meeting was convened to assess the country’s readiness and chart a clear path forward.
Adeola said the gathering was more than an assessment of policies and procedures, describing it as a crucial assignment to chart the way forward. She said it was 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.
She warned that failure to sustain the gains would amount to one step forward and two steps backwards, a situation she said must not be allowed to happen.
Adeola commended the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, for its series of measures and programmes, including the stocktaking exercise, aimed at making Nigeria’s journey into the third mutual evaluation smooth and successful. She expressed confidence that Nigeria will never go back to the grey list.
She noted that the NCS, as the institution responsible for moving goods and facilitating legitimate trade across borders, holds a strategic position but cannot succeed alone. Using a local proverb, she said a tree does not make a forest, underscoring the need for collective action among agencies.
Speaking at the session, the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hafsat Abubakar, represented by the Chief Operations Officer, Law Enforcement Support and Coordination, Emmanuel Sotande, thanked the NCS for its warm welcome and the humble reflections shared with the delegates and assessors.
He said the stocktaking was an opportunity to assess progress, identify outstanding gaps and strengthen collective readiness for the next evaluation of how effectively institutions implement the standards that protect the country’s financial integrity.
Sotande said Nigeria’s exit from the FATF grey list in October 2025 was a significant achievement that was achieved by working together. He added that the responsibility now is to sustain the progress and demonstrate lasting effectiveness.
He said the NCS plays a role in Nigeria’s anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation framework that goes beyond its core duties of revenue collection, trade facilitation and border enforcement.
According to him, Customs plays a vital role in detecting suspicious transactions and activities across borders. He explained that the Service’s access to trade records, import and export documentation, cargo information and border intelligence complements the financial intelligence gathered by the NFIU.
When these capabilities are effectively connected through timely information sharing and coordinated action, he said, Nigeria will be better positioned to identify suspicious networks, trace illicit proceeds and support appropriate enforcement measures.
