The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has signed a landmark Joint Declaration with the Customs Administration of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to strengthen bilateral cooperation on trade facilitation, border security, intelligence sharing, capacity building, and the fight against transnational organised crime.
The agreement was signed in Brussels on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, and the Director-General of Netherlands Customs, Mrs. Nanette Van Schelven, following a series of high-level engagements between both Customs administrations.
The partnership builds on the Nigeria Customs Service’s bilateral working visit to the Netherlands in October 2025 and the reciprocal visit of the Netherlands Customs delegation to Nigeria in March 2026.
Those engagements focused on customs modernisation, compliance management, enforcement cooperation, intelligence sharing, and improved trade facilitation.
According to a statement signed by the National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Deputy Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, the two Customs administrations had earlier identified several areas for collaboration, including risk management, cargo clearance systems, border control, supply chain security, capacity development, and the fight against illicit trade.
The Joint Declaration recognises Nigeria’s strategic position as one of West Africa’s leading economies and an important trading partner of the Netherlands. Both parties agreed that stronger customs cooperation and institutional capacity building are essential to facilitating legitimate trade while combating cross-border criminal activities.
The declaration also highlighted growing concerns over the trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, counterfeit goods, wildlife products, and weapons, stressing that such threats require coordinated international responses.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, described the agreement as a significant milestone in the Nigeria Customs Service’s international cooperation agenda.
He said the partnership would deepen intelligence sharing, enhance capacity building, improve enforcement effectiveness, and strengthen collective efforts to secure international supply chains while facilitating legitimate trade.
Adeniyi noted that the agreement reflects the strong relationship that has developed between the two customs administrations over the years and demonstrates the value of international cooperation in addressing emerging trade and border management challenges.
On her part, the Director General of Netherlands Customs, Mrs. Nanette Van Schelven, said both administrations face similar challenges in an increasingly interconnected global trading environment.
She expressed confidence that closer collaboration would encourage mutual learning, strengthen operational capabilities, improve efforts to combat transnational organised crime, and promote efficient and transparent trade processes.
Under the declaration, both Customs administrations committed to expanding cooperation through the exchange of expertise, training, knowledge sharing, and the development of structured cooperation frameworks.
The agreement also provides the foundation for a joint work plan and future cooperation mechanisms aimed at improving border efficiency, promoting fair trade practices, strengthening supply chain security, and addressing challenges associated with both legal and illegal cross-border movement of goods.
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