The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has called for greater adoption of technology, data analytics and artificial intelligence in Customs operations to strengthen Nigeria’s economic security while facilitating legitimate trade.
Adeniyi made the call in a paper presented at the 2026 Maritime Training Summit of the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) in Lagos, themed “The Power of Innovation in a Future-Ready Maritime Training Agenda.”
He said the rapid transformation of global trade through artificial intelligence, automation, big-data analytics, digital platforms, satellite technology and advanced scanning systems had made innovation an imperative for modern Customs administrations.
According to him, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is transitioning from a predominantly transaction-focused border agency to a data-driven, intelligence-led and technology-enabled institution capable of facilitating legitimate trade while protecting the nation’s economic and national security interests.
Adeniyi stressed that economic security and trade facilitation were not competing objectives, but could reinforce each other when properly designed.
He identified Customs’ responsibilities to include revenue protection, border security, prevention of smuggling and illicit trade, protection of domestic industries, export competitiveness, combating commercial fraud and under-declaration, and provision of reliable trade intelligence for government policy formulation.
The Customs boss said the increasing complexity of international commerce required the Service to move beyond traditional reliance on physical inspection, paper documentation and manual processes.
He said the critical question was no longer how to inspect more cargo, but how to identify the right cargo for intervention while allowing compliant trade to move with minimum interruption.
He identified risk management, data analytics, automation and intelligence as the tools required to achieve that objective.
Adeniyi described this approach as the essence of Smart Customs, where technology allows Customs officers to concentrate their expertise on high-risk transactions while compliant and low-risk cargo benefits from faster and more predictable clearance.
The Comptroller-General highlighted the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System as one of the major milestones in the NCS modernisation journey.
He said the indigenous digital Customs platform, initially piloted at PTML in October 2024 before subsequent expansion, represented more than a technology project.
According to him, B’Odogwu signifies a shift from fragmented processes to integrated and data-driven Customs administration, with capabilities covering digital declarations, valuation, risk management, cargo processing, revenue accounting, stakeholder interaction, data analytics, compliance management and inter-agency information exchange.
He also highlighted the Authorized Economic Operator programme, which provides compliant businesses with benefits including expedited clearance and reduced inspections.
“Modern Customs should not treat every trader as a potential offender,” he said, stressing that compliance should be rewarded while risk should attract appropriate intervention.
On the National Single Window, Adeniyi said its first phase commenced in March 2026 as a major component of Nigeria’s trade modernisation agenda.
He explained that the initiative would reduce the need for traders to navigate multiple disconnected government platforms by creating an integrated environment for electronic submission and secure sharing of information among authorised agencies.
The Customs chief said artificial intelligence would increasingly influence the future of border management by helping Customs analyse large volumes of information and identify patterns that may not be immediately visible to human officers.
He listed potential applications of AI to include risk profiling, anomaly detection, cargo targeting, valuation analysis, identification of unusual trading patterns, fraud detection, predictive enforcement, document verification and intelligence development.
However, he emphasised that technology should complement rather than replace Customs officers. “Technology should augment human intelligence, not eliminate it,” he said.
He consequently called for continuous training of Customs personnel in data analytics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital trade, risk management, supply-chain security, international trade agreements, emerging technologies, ethics and stakeholder communication.
Adeniyi also linked technology and intelligence to the fight against smuggling, noting that criminal networks were increasingly exploiting legitimate supply chains, false documentation, complex ownership structures, digital communication and sophisticated concealment methods.
He said the NCS was therefore adopting intelligence-led and technology-supported enforcement through risk management, surveillance, data analysis, inter-agency cooperation and targeted interventions.
He explained that the ultimate objective was to create an environment where legitimate businesses could thrive, compliant traders could move faster and illicit actors would face increasing difficulty.
Adeniyi described maritime journalists as important players in Nigeria’s economic ecosystem, saying their responsibility extended beyond reporting activities at the ports.
He said journalists help the public understand how trade works, why Customs policies matter, how reforms affect businesses and what technological developments mean for stakeholders.
He urged maritime journalists to become knowledgeable partners in Nigeria’s digital transformation, stressing that while technology could move information rapidly, professional journalism remained essential for ensuring that information was accurate, contextualised and responsible.
The NCS boss further stressed the need for greater collaboration among government agencies and private-sector stakeholders, noting that modern international trade involved multiple actors, including shippers, shipping lines, ports, terminal operators, Customs, regulators, financial institutions, freight forwarders, transporters and importers.
He said disconnected systems among these actors would inevitably create inefficiency.
Adeniyi identified the National Single Window as an important architecture for institutional interoperability and called for stronger collaboration among the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NAFDAC, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, NDLEA, FIRS, Central Bank of Nigeria, shipping lines, terminal operators, freight forwarders, banks and technology providers.
He also warned that increased digital connectivity must be matched with stronger cybersecurity measures, including secure authentication, data protection, cybersecurity monitoring, secure information exchange, system redundancy and business continuity arrangements.
Five Priorities for the Future
Adeniyi proposed five strategic priorities for the next phase of Customs modernisation: accelerated digital integration; development of advanced data capabilities; creation of a future-ready workforce; stronger public-private partnerships; and institutionalisation of innovation.
He said innovation must become part of the institutional culture of the NCS rather than depend on individuals or temporary projects.
In conclusion, Adeniyi described the Customs modernisation journey as a transition “from manual to digital, from reactive to predictive, from isolated systems to interoperability, and from transaction processing to intelligence-led economic security.”
He said the ultimate objective was to build a Customs administration that is faster, smarter, more transparent, more secure, more predictable and more professional.
“The Customs administration of the future will not be defined merely by the technology it possesses, but by how intelligently it uses that technology to protect the economy, facilitate trade and serve the people,” he said.
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