The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have moved to deepen cooperation on customs modernization, data transparency and digital border management following a high‑level bilateral meeting in London on 18 March 2026.
Meeting on the margins of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s state visit to the United Kingdom under the Nigeria–United Kingdom Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP), the talks were led by NCS Comptroller‑General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, and Ms Megan Shaw, HMRC’s Head of International Customs and Border Engagement.
The two sides reviewed their respective modernization programmes and discussed practical steps to improve trade efficiency and integrity across the Nigeria–UK corridor. Areas of focus included enhanced pre‑arrival data sharing, improved risk management, better reconciliation of bilateral trade statistics and wider operational cooperation.
A prominent issue identified during the talks was a notable discrepancy in recorded trade flows. While UK data show exports to Nigeria of roughly £1.7 billion in 2024, Nigerian import records list about £504 million in UK‑origin goods for the same period. Both administrations described the gap as structural and committed to exploring a structured pre‑arrival data exchange between their digital customs platforms to tighten compliance monitoring and improve data accuracy.
Delegates also exchanged information on technological advances. HMRC outlined developments in artificial intelligence–driven trade tools, digital verification systems and real‑time analytics, and both parties agreed on the importance of collaborating on technology deployment and capacity building.
Key outcomes of the engagement include agreement to develop a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Framework, the start of technical scoping for capacity‑building and knowledge exchange, and the establishment of a joint technical engagement mechanism under the ETIP framework.
Comptroller‑General Adeniyi emphasized that effective customs cooperation is a critical enabler of economic growth and sustainable trade, noting the long‑standing commercial ties between Nigeria and the UK across sectors such as industrial goods, agriculture, energy and consumer products.
In a statement, the NCS said the engagement complements its broader modernization agenda and renewed efforts to promote transparency, efficiency and competitiveness in Nigeria’s trading environment. The service added that insights from the meeting will bolster its operational capacity and support Nigeria’s economic reform objectives under the Renewed Hope programme.
The NCS announced the developments in an official release signed by Deputy Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, PhD, National Public Relations Officer to the Comptroller‑General of Customs.
