The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has strengthened its partnership with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of the United Kingdom to enhance trade transparency and efficiency.
The renewed cooperation follows a high-level bilateral meeting held in London on March 18, 2026, under the framework of the Nigeria–United Kingdom Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP), on the margins of the state visit of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the United Kingdom.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and Ms Megan Shaw, Head of International Customs and Border Engagement at HMRC, led the bilateral engagement. Discussions centred on advancing customs modernisation, strengthening data transparency in bilateral trade flows, and expanding operational cooperation between both administrations, with a view to improving efficiency and integrity across the Nigeria–United Kingdom trade corridor.
Speaking during the engagement, CGC Adeniyi emphasised that effective customs cooperation remains a critical enabler of economic growth and sustainable trade development.
He noted that Nigeria and the United Kingdom share a long-standing economic relationship supported by active trade across key sectors, including industrial goods, agriculture, energy, and consumer products.
The CGC also stated that customs administrations serve as the frontline institutions responsible for ensuring that trade flows between both countries are transparent, secure, and mutually beneficial.
Both administrations acknowledged the existence of some gaps in bilateral trade data, identifying it as a structural issue requiring coordinated resolution.
Available statistics indicate that while approximately £504 million in UK-origin goods were recorded as imports into Nigeria in 2024, the United Kingdom reported exports to Nigeria valued at approximately £1.7 billion for the same period. To address this gap, both parties agreed to explore establishing a structured pre-arrival data exchange framework between their respective digital customs platforms to enhance risk management, improve data reconciliation, and strengthen compliance monitoring.
The engagement further provided an opportunity for both administrations to present their respective customs modernisation programmes, including the United Kingdom’s advancements in artificial intelligence-driven trade tools, digital verification systems, and real-time analytics capabilities.
The discussions highlighted the importance of deeper collaboration in technology deployment and digital border management, while also producing key outcomes, including the development of a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Framework, the commencement of technical scoping for capacity-building and knowledge exchange, and the establishment of a joint technical engagement mechanism under the ETIP framework.
Consequently, the NCS reiterated its commitment to deepening international partnerships as part of its broader modernisation agenda aimed at promoting transparency, efficiency, and competitiveness in Nigeria’s trading environment.
The Service equally assured stakeholders that insights from this engagement will strengthen its operational capacity, enhance trade facilitation, and support Nigeria’s economic reform objectives under the Renewed Hope programme.
