Nigeria Strengthens Border Surveillance as Authorities Join Forces Against Illicit Finance
The Nigeria Customs Service is working with six security and financial regulatory agencies to strengthen intelligence sharing and disrupt criminal networks involved in cross-border money laundering, terrorism financing and other illegal activities.
The collaboration brings together the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Nigeria Immigration Service and the National Counter-Terrorism Centre. The initiative followed a three-day engagement held between October 27 and 29, 2026, during which officials examined gaps in inter-agency communication and assessed Customs operations at selected border posts.
The exercise, led by Assistant Comptroller-General Muhammad Shuaibu, focused on improving the detection of suspicious financial movements and ensuring that intelligence gathered by different institutions leads to coordinated action. Participants, including representatives of the World Customs Organisation, also identified bureaucratic delays, communication barriers and data privacy concerns as challenges to effective information exchange. The agencies explored measures to address these obstacles and improve their joint response to financial crimes.
Alongside the security initiative, the Customs Service presented its digital reforms at the World Customs Organisation Smart Customs Project Global Event in Brussels, Belgium. The presentation highlighted its B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System and the use of artificial intelligence, data analytics and electronic cargo tracking to improve border monitoring, risk assessment and legitimate trade processing. The agency said the modernisation drive would support more transparent operations and strengthen its capacity to identify suspicious transactions and cargo movements.
