Customs

100 days in office: Appreciative stakeholders doff hats for Wale Adeniyi as CGC

—he is the best thing to have happened to Customs –Abdulazeez— he could emerge as the best CGC ever– Akpunonu—-he is a communication strategist –Aniebonam— he is a thoroughbred professional — Tanko .

The Eyewitness reporter

It was a flurry of tributes, commendations and applause by the critical maritime stakeholders for Adewale Adeniyi, the acting Comptroller General of Customs.

Adeniyi, who was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 19th, 2023 to superintendent over the Nigeria Customs Service, marked his first 100 days in office last week.

It was a momentous 100 days of innovative leadership, reformative policies, extensive collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, inspiring leadership and rejuvenating action that drew applause from the critical stakeholders.

The visibly elated industry operators, especially the confraternity of freight forwarders, were unsparing in their conviction that Adeniyi has brought fresh air to the Nigeria Customs Service.

They were unanimous in their declaration that the new Sheriff in the customs has so far done well.

Babatunde Mukaila Abdulazeez, the former National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents ( ANLCA) who was also the immediate past Sole Administrator of the troubled association, couldn’t hide his feelings over the inspiring leadership of Adeniyi.

“It is a personal roller coaster feeling for me. We have never had it so good.”, he declared when he was asked to assess the performance of Adeniyi in his first 100 days in the saddle as the CGC.

Ada Ozomena Akpunonu, another frontline freight forwarder and a top-notch member of the ANLCA, was no less impressed by the performance of Adeniyi as the CGC.

“He could eventually emerge as the best CGC customs ever had” she declared.

Ibrahim Tanko, the Vice President, the Western Zone of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) who is also the National Coordinator of the 100 compliance team of the association, also acknowledged the uncommon professional ingenuity of the new CGC.

“He has done well so far”, he stated tersely.

Dr Boniface Aniebonam, the legendary founder of NAGAFF was no less enamoured by the sparkling leadership qualities of Adeniyi as displayed within his first 100 days in office.

“He is a communication strategist “, he declared as a matter of fact.

It was not however praises galore as some of these stakeholders have some reservations and offered advice on how the new CGC could scale up his game to improve on his laudable achievements.

Babatunde Mukaila Abdulazeez

“It is a personal roller coaster feeling for me. We had never had it so good.

Wale has shown that he has the capacity and what it takes to take Nigeria Customs to the next level.

He has shown that Nigeria can be at par with the rest of the advanced world in the deployment of trade tools.

In the first 100 days, he has shown uncommon courage, commitment and uncanny knowledge of customs operations and processes that are meant to facilitate trade.

For instance, he introduced what is called the Advance Ruling which holds Customs officers accountable for whatever their position is on pre-importation requests.

I can tell you that it takes courage to do that as no officer would want to be held responsible for his action.

But Adeniyi has done that.

He was the first CG to bell the cat on this novel idea. This shows his courage and passion to transform customs.

Also, he introduced another novel idea by partnering with the Japanese government to establish a laboratory for Nigeria Customs.

The issue of argument on chemical imports will be a thing of the past. This will not only help the customs but the NAFDAC as well.

Adeniyi, in his first 100 days in office, has shown us that he knows what needs to be done and that he is a core professional customs officer.

We can only pray for him to succeed. He has put on the table accountability and transparency.

Ada Ozomena Akpunonu

Wale is a professional customs officer and we all know his rich antecedents.

Unfortunately, he came at a time when Nigeria’s economy is in comatose. This will make his task a bit difficult.

For instance, the exchange rate is too high and the Customs duties are equally high which have both combined to make goods clearance at the port very exorbitant.

I hear that it may soon take an average of N10 million to clear one forty-foot container. Where will people get this kind of money from?

The government should help Adeniyi to succeed by putting policies and programmes that are business-friendly and help to promote trade.

Wale is a team player. He carries everyone along.

Through the deployment of his Area Controllers, he has shown the depth of his managerial acumen because his men at the Area Commands are square pegs in square holes.

By the time he is confirmed as the CGC, he will perform wonders. The atmosphere in the customs now is that of conviviality and sanity.

If not for the instability of the naira and the bastardized economy, Wale could emerge as the best CGC ever.

Ibrahim Tanko

Wale is doing well as the CGC.

However, an area of concern to me is where he transferred revenue officers from their area of core competence to enforcement and brought enforcement officers to come and man revenue units.

This may affect the revenue generation of the customs because the enforcement officers put in the revenue units do not understand anything about tariffs.

I think he should have given them training before putting them there. Wale will do better if he puts officers in positions in which they are best suited.

However, he has done well in terms of reducing the bottleneck in clearance procedures by reducing the number of units.

For instance, he has disbanded the notorious CG strike force as well as border drills.

He is also working hard to restore the core values of the Federal Operations Units ( FOUs) of the service by enhancing their professionalism.

He is also doing well in the area of checking the excesses of officers.

He is also doing well in attending to pending cases such as seizures, detentions, dismissals and suspensions.

However, I would like him to define and delineate the functions of Customs Police, FOU and Provosts.

Their functions and duties should be well-defined and clearly stated to avoid overlap and clash.

Dr. Boniface Aniebonam

Wale is a master communication strategist. But unfortunately, he is not communicating well.

I am a Customs officer and a founder of NAGAFF. He needs to feel the pulse of port operations and operators from critical stakeholders in the industry.

He has to address them to sell his mandate to the people.

He should visit ANLCA and NAGAFF, the two frontline associations of freight forwarders where he can discuss revenue, suppression of smuggling activities, trade facilitation and other customs operations. However, I commend him on the disbandment of the CG strike force.

The interventionist squad had abused the customs process under previous customs administrations.

We appreciate him for that. He should also take a very strong stance against avoidable trade alerts from different customs units.

This does not facilitate trade.

He should coordinate and hamonise the alert system and I know as a listening officer, he shall look into this disturbing issue.

He should also take a very strong exception to the wastage of human resources at the zonal offices as a core professional customs officer.

The zonal offices of customs must be functional and proactive while the headquarters should be for policy formulation.

There are lot to still be done.

However, his first 100 days in office are well and good.

He should, however, contact critical stakeholders and partner them by using established platforms such as ANLCA and NAGAFF to reach out to the trading public.

His 100 days in office have been avoidably aggressive in revenue target and collection. But the modern-day customs practice is not about revenue but trade facilitation.

If you raise the compliance level of the trading public, this will lead to high revenue. He should de-emphasize revenue and emphasize trade facilitation which leads to high revenue.

You don’t destroy trade because of your pursuit of revenue.

However, the stakeholders, despite their varying views, were unanimous in their assessment of Wale Adeniyi’s first 100 days in office as the CGC.

They all chorused their agreement that the new sheriff in town has raised the bar in customs administration and put the service on the path of greatness, professionalism, public acceptance and global recognition never witnessed in the over 100 years of the existence of the revenue agency in the country.

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Customs

Kaila, Seme Customs CAC, seeks collaboration with stakeholders to achieve seemless trade along border corridor

Funso OLOJO, Editor

The new Area Controller of the Seme Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Abdullahi Kaila, has reached out to traditional rulers and sister agencies at the border communities to ensure the achievement of his mandate of detection, determent of smuggling, revenue generation and trade facilitation along the border corridor.

To achieve these objectives, Comptroller Kaila went on tour of the communities within the border corridor where he met and sought for the support and cooperation of major critical stakeholders, including the traditional rulers and sister agencies.

According to him, his objective was to eradicate trade hindrances affecting free movement of goods and services along the Lagos-Abidjan business corridor.

Speaking at the Palace of Oba Akran of Badagry Kingdom, the Customs Area Controller condoled with the royal family and entire people of Badagry kingdom on the passing away of HRM De Wheno Aholu Menu Toyi I who was a well recognized traditional ruler across the border communities.

“”The purpose of my visit is to introduce myself as the Area Controller of Seme Command and to equally seek your royal blessing and support to achieve the core mandate of the service.

“Our priority remains to generate revenue, facilitate trade, and suppress smuggling.

“And we in the Customs believe that without due support and co-operation from traditional rulers, we can not have effective performance of our functions as Customs officers” he said

The King Regent, Chief Abel Ogunbiyi, who described Kaila as the son of the soil, added that “We have listened to your request.

” Know that Badagry is a very peaceful town, and we will keep collaborating with you in safeguarding our borders and in promoting legitimate trade, ” he stated.

Comptroller Kaila also visited the Onibereko of Ibereko Awori-Kingdom, where the monarch, Oba Israel Okoya, signifies his commitment to fostering the service relationship with residents living within the border communities

“I welcome you to Badagry and be rest assured that I will always talk to my people whenever the need is required.

” In our town, our youth does not engage in illegalities as I have no other choice than to assist you in achieving the government mandate, ” he mentioned

While at the Palace of Alapa of Apa Kingdom, the king HRM Oba Oyekan Ajose Ilufemiloye commended and described the CAC, Comptroller Kaila as a professional, seasoned and well respected officer as described by indigenes of border communities.

“I promise you that I will always assist you in my area for anything that you need.

“Our border here has been peaceful because our youth always listen to the elders, and I know with your presence here, things will change for the better, ” he said

In his efforts to consolidate on existing synergy between sister security agencies, Kaila also visited Headquarters of 653 Nigerian Air force base, Ahanve-Badagry.

The Commanding Officer, Group Captain Hungruy Medugu,expressed the readiness of the formation to always support the command in achieving its mandate.

“Our collaboration has been key to various successes we have recorded in our area of responsibility.

” Your presence here strengthens existing bonds of inter-agency collaboration between both Services, and we will not take it for granted ,” he said

The Area Controller then ended his familirisation tour with seeking for mutual cooperation with a visit to the Republic of Benin Police office, showing his readiness to eradicate hindrances affecting the free movement of goods and services across the border.

Customs

SIFAX Group sponsors Customs feature film “Novara”

– a story- telling movie on the sacrifices, resilience of customs officers in safeguarding Nigeria’s borders

Gloria Odion, Maritime reporter

In a landmark evening that brought together the worlds of commerce, security, and storytelling, SIFAX Group was prominently recognised as a major sponsor at the star-studded premiere of ‘Novara’, the Nigeria Customs Service’s (NCS) debut feature film, held on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at the Viva Cinemas, Jara Mall, Ikeja, Lagos.

The high-profile event, which drew senior customs officials, industry leaders, members of the diplomatic community, and entertainment figures, marked an unprecedented moment in Nigeria’s institutional storytelling, with the NCS leveraging the power of cinema to illuminate the bravery and sacrifices of its officers in the relentless fight against smuggling.

Representing SIFAX Group at the event was Mrs Ololade Dawodu, Head of Clearing and Forwarding at SIFAX Shipping, who delivered an address that drew a direct line between the film’s narrative and the realities of maritime operations at Nigeria’s ports.

She noted that the story resonates strongly with real-life operations at Tin Can Island Port, one of Nigeria’s busiest commercial gateways and a critical hub within SIFAX Group’s operational landscape.

“For those of us in the industry, the sight of cargo ships and port operations is familiar but this film takes us beyond the surface, revealing the high-stakes reality that underpins global logistics.” she said.

Dawodu emphasised that the story goes beyond entertainment, serving as a tribute to the courage and resilience of officers who protect the nation’s economic lifelines.

She pointed to the film’s portrayal of loss and sacrifice as a sobering reminder of the human cost tied to security enforcement.

“At SIFAX Group, we believe that a secure maritime sector is the backbone of a thriving economy. Without security, trade cannot flourish.” she stated.

SIFAX Group’s partnership with the initiative did not go unnoticed.

The film’s producer, Agozie Ugwu, and the Superintendent of Customs 1, Mr Okpanachi Adejoh, both publicly commended SIFAX Group’s contributions to the project’s success, describing the Group’s sponsorship as instrumental in bringing the story to the screen at the scale it deserved.

The premiere concluded on a reflective note, with guests commending both the storytelling and the collaboration between the creative industry and key institutions.

For SIFAX Group, the evening reinforced a clear message: sustainable growth in trade and logistics depends not only on infrastructure and expertise, but also on unwavering commitment to security.

About ‘Novara’

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Agozie Ugwu and featuring veteran Nollywood actors Francis Duru and Ray Adeka, Novara tells the story of a dedicated customs officer navigating the dangers of undercover operations, while also shedding light on the personal sacrifices made by law enforcement personnel.

Through its narrative, the film highlights the often-unseen risks involved in safeguarding Nigeria’s borders.

The film follows Superintendent Panshak Asiya, an undercover Customs officer who risks everything, including the safety of his family, to dismantle one of the country’s most dangerous smuggling syndicates.

Beyond its gripping action sequences, the film explores themes of love, faith, sacrifice, and the unseen human cost of law enforcement.

Customs

Customs seeks strong commitment to war against narcotics trafficking in Nigeria

Funso OLOJO, Editor

–renews partnership with NDLEA for effective operations

The Comptroller- General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, has warned that weak and uncoordinated institutional fight against drug trafficking may undermine Nigeria’ s standing in international community.

Leading a high- powered Customs delegation to a strategic meeting with the leadership of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) held at the headquarters of the anti- narcotics agency on Monday, April 27th, 2026, Adeniyi said that Nigeria must show strong commitment, clinical enforcement and transparency in its fight against narcotics trafficking in order to enhance the confidence of international community.

Addressing the joint meeting between the top- ranked Customs officers and the leadership of the NDLEA led by its Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), the Customs boss stated that narcotics trafficking is in the front burner of discussions at international fora and the West African corridor is under serious scrutiny.

Adeniyi further declared that the fight against drug trafficking now goes beyond domestic enforcement, warning that Nigeria’s credibility before international partners depends largely on how effectively local institutions work together.

“I came here directly from international engagements in Europe and Asia, and at every table, narcotics trafficking remained a major issue. The West African corridor is under serious watch.”

“The agreements we sign abroad will only carry value when our operational credibility at home supports them.

“If intelligence shared with Nigeria is not pursued to interception, prosecution and destruction, our standing is weakened,” CGC Adeniyi said.

The Customs boss disclosed that the Service had continued to make major seizures and handovers to NDLEA, particularly through the Apapa Command and other operational formations.

Adeniyi, however, stressed that interdiction alone was not enough, calling for stronger post-seizure accountability, regular prosecution updates and transparent destruction procedures.

“Interdiction is only the first act of enforcement, not the last. Where narcotics are transferred but not promptly destroyed, where prosecution advances without feedback, and where exhibits are separated from originating officers, then the chain of enforcement is incomplete.”, he declared.

The Customs boss proposed a fresh framework between both agencies, including joint destruction of seized drugs where suspects are not arrested, periodic case status reports, coordinated court appearances and standing liaison channels at command level.

“We have not come here to apportion blame. We have come to design the next phase of a partnership that has carried Nigeria this far and must now carry it further,” the CGC declared.

Responding, the NDLEA Chairman described the concerns raised by Customs as legitimate and timely, assuring that the agency remains committed to transparency, accountability and professional cooperation.

“The concerns relating to post-transfer accountability, prosecution outcomes and disposal processes are valid concerns.

“We must move beyond ceremonial handovers to a structured and mandatory reporting framework under which NDLEA provides formal updates on investigations, prosecutions and final disposal of Customs-originated seizures.” Marwa noted.

The NDLEA boss proposed the immediate establishment of a joint committee to review grey areas in the existing Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) signed by both agencies under previous administrations.

According to him, the committee would recommend clearer procedures and, where necessary, draft a supplementary agreement for approval by both leaderships, stating, “Today’s meeting is timely. It gives us the opportunity to discuss areas of concern frankly and strengthen our collaboration.”