The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has commenced efforts to tackle fake news, online scams, and misleading information capable of damaging the image of the Service through the integration of digital data-tracking intelligence tools.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Friday, October 30, 2026, through the National Public Relations Officer of the Service, Deputy Comptroller of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada, at the NECCIPR Roundtable ’26 held in Lagos.
Speaking on the theme, “Algorithm Influence & Public Relations,” Maiwada highlighted the growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in Customs operations and strategic communication.
He explained that AI has been deployed over the years to support the Service’s core operational responsibilities, particularly risk management, through the assessment and categorisation of imported items according to their respective risk levels to facilitate appropriate Customs interventions.
Maiwada noted that AI also provides opportunities to analyse public sentiment and understand how people perceive the activities of the Service.
He added that the NCS is utilising available platforms to establish facts and collaborating with relevant agencies to apprehend individuals responsible for spreading misleading information.
He stressed the importance of effective communication in ensuring that members of the public understand and appreciate the reasons behind officers’ actions in the discharge of their duties.
Earlier, the convener of the NECCIPR Roundtable ’26, Nkechi Ali-Balogun, stated that the initiative was established on the conviction that public relations professionals must go beyond managing messages to actively shaping national discourse.
Ali-Balogun emphasised that the increasing influence of artificial intelligence and digital algorithms has raised concerns about how information is circulated and how public perceptions are shaped.
She observed that algorithms can influence political narratives, promote conspiracy theories, and determine the information consumed and shared by millions of people.
The event also featured keynote addresses by the President and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Ike Neliaku, and former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, alongside other invited dignitaries.
