By Julius Peter, Abuja

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has pledged to sustain its efforts to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and other financial crimes, stressing the need to protect Nigeria’s gains following the country’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

The Service described Nigeria’s removal from the grey list as a significant national achievement, warning that government institutions must strengthen their collaboration and maintain effective anti-money laundering measures to prevent a reversal of the progress recorded.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Kikelomo Adeola, gave the assurance on Monday, October 26, 2026, at a stocktaking meeting held at the Customs headquarters in Abuja.

The meeting was organised to assess Nigeria’s preparedness for its forthcoming Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) mutual evaluation.

Adeola said the exercise provided an important opportunity for relevant institutions to review the country’s progress, identify outstanding weaknesses and develop strategies to ensure that the achievements recorded in strengthening its financial integrity framework were sustained.

She described the stocktaking meeting as more than a routine assessment of existing policies and procedures, noting that it was a strategic assignment aimed at determining the country’s readiness for the next phase of international evaluation.

According to her, Nigeria must be willing to examine its performance honestly, identify areas requiring improvement and take the necessary steps to consolidate the gains already made.

“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.

The Customs deputy comptroller-general commended the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for its sustained efforts to strengthen the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework.

She particularly acknowledged the unit’s programmes and initiatives, including the stocktaking exercise, which she said were designed to facilitate a smooth and successful mutual evaluation process for Nigeria.

Adeola expressed confidence that the country would consolidate its progress and avoid returning to the FATF grey list.

“I believe Nigeria will never go back to that grey list,” she declared.

She also emphasised the strategic importance of the Nigeria Customs Service in the country’s efforts to prevent illicit financial flows, noting that the institution’s responsibilities at the nation’s borders placed it in a critical position to identify suspicious cross-border activities.

According to her, the Customs Service’s role in facilitating legitimate trade and regulating the movement of goods across international borders makes its contribution indispensable to the country’s broader financial crime prevention efforts.

However, she stressed that no single institution could effectively address the complex challenges associated with money laundering and terrorism financing without the cooperation of other relevant agencies.

“A tree does not make a forest,” she said, underscoring the importance of collective action, information sharing and inter-agency coordination in combating financial crimes.

Speaking at the meeting, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Hafsat Abubakar, represented by the Chief Operations Officer, Law Enforcement Support and Coordination, Emmanuel Sotande, expressed appreciation to the Nigeria Customs Service for hosting the meeting and engaging constructively with the delegates and assessors.

Sotande said the stocktaking exercise was an important opportunity for participating institutions to evaluate the progress made so far, identify outstanding gaps and strengthen their collective readiness for Nigeria’s next AML/CFT mutual evaluation.

He explained that the forthcoming evaluation would assess how effectively relevant institutions implement the standards designed to safeguard the country’s financial system against money laundering, terrorism financing and other related threats.

According to him, the exercise would require institutions to demonstrate not only the existence of appropriate laws, policies and procedures but also their effective implementation in practice.

Sotande described Nigeria’s removal from the FATF grey list as a major achievement made possible through the collective efforts of government institutions and other stakeholders.

“Nigeria’s exit from the FATF grey list in October 2025 was a significant achievement that we all achieved by working together,” he said.

He added that the priority now was to sustain the progress and demonstrate that the country’s reforms had produced lasting results.

The NFIU representative stressed that the responsibility for protecting Nigeria’s financial integrity extended beyond any single institution, requiring sustained cooperation among agencies responsible for financial intelligence, law enforcement, border management and regulatory oversight.

He noted that the Nigeria Customs Service had a particularly important role to play in this process because of its access to information on international trade, cargo movements and cross-border transactions.

Sotande explained that the contribution of the Customs Service to Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework went beyond its traditional responsibilities of revenue collection, trade facilitation and border enforcement.

According to him, the Service’s operational activities provide access to critical information that can help authorities detect suspicious transactions, identify illicit trade networks and support investigations into financial crimes.

“Customs plays a vital role in detecting suspicious transactions and activities across borders,” he said.

He explained that import and export documentation, cargo information, trade records and border intelligence available to Customs officers could complement the financial intelligence generated by the NFIU.

Such information, he added, could help investigators identify inconsistencies in trade transactions, uncover suspicious cross-border activities and trace the movement of funds or goods associated with criminal networks.

Sotande maintained that effective coordination between the Customs Service and the NFIU would strengthen the country’s capacity to identify suspicious activities and respond appropriately.

“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 added.

His remarks highlighted the importance of linking trade-related intelligence with financial intelligence to strengthen the country’s ability to detect and disrupt activities associated with money laundering and other forms of illicit financing.

The meeting comes as Nigeria prepares for its next AML/CFT mutual evaluation, placing renewed emphasis on the effectiveness of the country’s institutions in implementing measures against financial crimes.

The FATF grey list identifies jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring because of strategic deficiencies in their systems for combating money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing.

Removal from the list represents an important milestone, but maintaining that status requires countries to sustain effective systems, address emerging weaknesses and demonstrate continued compliance with applicable international standards.

For Nigeria, the next evaluation presents an opportunity to demonstrate that the reforms and institutional improvements implemented in recent years are delivering sustainable results.

The outcome will depend, in part, on the ability of relevant agencies to translate established policies and procedures into effective operational outcomes, including the detection of suspicious transactions, investigation of financial crimes and enforcement of appropriate measures.

The Customs Service’s participation is particularly significant because illicit financial flows can be linked to cross-border trade, the movement of goods and attempts to conceal the proceeds of criminal activities.

Strengthening the use of trade records and border intelligence, alongside financial intelligence, could therefore improve the ability of authorities to identify suspicious transactions and support investigations.

The discussions at the Abuja meeting also reinforced the need for institutions to identify existing operational gaps before the next evaluation and take corrective measures to address them.

Both the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit emphasised that sustained collaboration would be essential to protecting the country’s achievements.

The agencies indicated that timely information sharing, coordinated enforcement and continuous assessment of institutional performance would be important in strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

The emphasis on collaboration reflects the cross-border nature of many financial crimes, which can involve multiple jurisdictions, complex trade arrangements and networks operating across different sectors of the economy.

No single agency possesses all the information or operational capabilities required to identify and investigate every form of illicit financial activity.

Consequently, closer cooperation between Customs, financial intelligence authorities and other relevant institutions remains necessary to improve the detection of suspicious activities and strengthen enforcement responses.

For the NCS, the commitment to sustain the fight against financial crimes also reinforces the importance of ensuring that legitimate trade continues to flourish while measures are strengthened to prevent the misuse of cross-border transactions for criminal purposes.

The Service’s position is that effective border management and trade facilitation must go hand in hand with efforts to protect the country’s financial system and economic interests.

As preparations for the next mutual evaluation continue, the message from the Abuja meeting is that Nigeria’s removal from the FATF grey list should serve as a foundation for further institutional improvements rather than a reason for complacency.

The Customs Service and the NFIU have therefore called for sustained vigilance, stronger cooperation and continued efforts to close existing gaps, with the shared objective of preserving Nigeria’s progress and demonstrating lasting effectiveness in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.