The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has strengthened its strategic partnership with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of the United Kingdom as part of ongoing efforts to enhance international customs cooperation and trade facilitation.
This development followed a high-level bilateral meeting held in London on 18 March 2026 under the Nigeria–United Kingdom Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP).
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the state visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the United Kingdom.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and the Head of International Customs and Border Engagement at HMRC, Ms Megan Shaw, led discussions focused on customs modernisation, improving transparency in bilateral trade data, and expanding operational collaboration between both countries.
Speaking during the engagement, Adeniyi stressed that effective customs cooperation is essential for economic growth and sustainable trade.
He noted that Nigeria and the United Kingdom maintain a long-standing trade relationship spanning key sectors such as industrial goods, agriculture, energy, and consumer products.
According to him, customs administrations play a critical role in ensuring that trade flows remain transparent, secure, and beneficial to both nations. Both parties, however, acknowledged discrepancies in bilateral trade data, describing the issue as a structural gap requiring urgent attention.
Available figures show that while Nigeria recorded about £504 million worth of UK-origin imports in 2024, the United Kingdom reported exports to Nigeria valued at approximately £1.7 billion within the same period.
To address this disparity, the two administrations agreed to explore the establishment of a structured pre-arrival data exchange framework between their digital customs systems. The initiative is expected to improve risk management, enhance data reconciliation, and strengthen compliance monitoring.
The meeting also provided an avenue for both sides to showcase their customs modernisation programmes. HMRC highlighted its progress in deploying artificial intelligence-driven trade tools, digital verification systems, and real-time analytics.
Key outcomes from the engagement include plans to develop a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Framework, initiate technical scoping for capacity-building and knowledge exchange, and establish a joint technical engagement mechanism under the ETIP framework.
The NCS reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening international partnerships as part of its broader modernisation agenda.
The Service added that insights from the engagement would enhance operational efficiency, improve trade facilitation, and support Nigeria’s economic reform objectives under the Renewed Hope programme.
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