Get Guardian on GoogleCOMPTROLLER General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Chairperson of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Council, Bashir Adeniyi, has said that the Service has the dual mandate vigorously facilitating legitimate commerce while dismantling illicit trade networks.
He stated this at the inaugural Customs Police Summit 2026 in Abuja.
Adeniyi explained the critical role of internal accountability, noting that customs administration cannot effectively police the nation’s borders without maintaining strict discipline and integrity within its own ranks.
He insisted that the modernisation of the service, through B’Odogwu and other reforms means that ’Customs must facilitate legitimate trade and stop illicit trade, and it can do neither without a disciplined and trusted police unit to uphold its own standards.”
Tracing the history of the Customs Police Unit (CPU) since its inception in July 2019, the CG said that no officer is above the law.
He emphasised that criminal networks have grown increasingly sophisticated, employing digital channels and traditional trade routes to traffic narcotics, firearm components, counterfeit medicines, and protected wildlife.
To counter these evolving threats, Adeniyi noted that the service is leveraging cutting edge technological frameworks and intelligence driven tools such as the B’Odogwu platform, the INTERPOL Data Centre at Customs Headquarters and international instruments like the Revised Kyoto Convention, to streamline operations and minimise human discretion and corruption.
He outlined a strategic path forward anchored on the three core pillars of Consolidation, Collaboration, and Innovation(CCI).
He charged sister security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force, NDLEA, NAFDAC and the DSS, to foster closer partnerships, warning that enforcement in isolation inevitably fails.
Addressing officers of the CPU directly, Adeniyi urged them to wear their red berets with utmost discipline, restraint, and pride.
“The Red Beret you wear carries the trust of Nigerians and the reputation of the Service. Wear it with discipline. Wear it with restraint. Wear it with pride. And never forget that charity begins at home, for integrity remains the greatest badge you carry,” he charged.
