Left to right: Director TETFUND Center Of Excellence in Security Management, Prof Benjamin Aluko; the Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof Kayode Adebowale decorating the Controller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi during the programme in Ibadan. Photo: Ademola Adegbite.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, on Tuesday said the use of intelligence, data and joint patrols with neighbouring countries was more effective in curbing smuggling than sealing borders.
Adeniyi spoke at the third Distinguished Personality Lecture organised by the TETFUND Centre of Excellence in Security Management, University of Ibadan, Oyo State.
The event was held at the institution’s Trenchard Hall.
Speaking on the topic, “Why Customs Matters: Revenue, Security and Nationhood in a Borderless World,” Adeniyi maintained that the revenue generated by the service helped the government fulfil its social contract with the people.
He said, “Revenue, then, is the material base of the social contract and not just money. A nation that cannot fund itself cannot govern itself. That is the first reason Customs matters.
“The land border closure of August 2019 to December 2020 curbed some smuggling, but field research published this year found that the closure did not destroy the smuggling networks; it reorganised them. The lesson is that a nation is protected by intelligent control of its border, not by sealing it. Closure is a blunt instrument, while intelligence, data and joint patrols with our neighbours are sharper ones.”
The Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof Kayode Adebowale, with the Controller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi during the programme in Ibadan. Photo: Ademola Adegbite.
Adeniyi noted that smugglers deprived the country and its people of revenue needed by governments to build primary schools, provide healthcare facilities and construct rural roads.
He said, “Customs revenue matters more in developing economies than in rich ones. In 2023, Africa’s average tax-to-GDP ratio was 16.1 per cent, against 33.9 per cent in the OECD. Large informal sectors make income tax hard to collect. Imports, by contrast, pass through a few points we can watch: seaports, airports and border posts.
“This is why trade integration must be pursued with our eyes open, since many countries that cut trade taxes never replaced the lost revenue. It is also why waivers deserve scrutiny. Import concessions were worth about ₦1.68tn in 2024, and in August, I called for a review of the waiver regime alongside the Customs Act.”
Describing the 2026 revenue target of ₦11.07tn as demanding, Adeniyi said the service would pursue it through improved compliance, data and trade facilitation rather than harassment at the ports.
He said the service would “pursue the target through compliance, data and facilitation, not through harassment at the ports, because a target met by choking trade would be a false victory.”
The Customs chief called for increased vigilance against arms smuggling, noting that the service had handed over 1,599 firearms seized between 2018 and 2024 to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.
He said, “On June 21, 2024, our officers intercepted 844 rifles and 112,500 rounds of ammunition at a bonded terminal in Onne. They came in a 40-foot container from Türkiye, hidden among dolls, furniture and plumbing fittings. In February 2025, we handed over 1,599 firearms seized between 2018 and 2024 to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.
“A pattern emerges: the large consignments came by sea, in containers, dismantled or hidden among household goods. This is security performed upstream. Every rifle stopped at the quay is a rifle that never reaches a forest camp, a kidnapping gang or a polling unit. As the 2027 general elections approach, that vigilance matters even more.”
In his remarks, the Director of TECESM, Prof. Benjamin Aluko, described the lecture as “one of the strategies to strengthen the accomplishment of the mandate of our centre in particular and to deepen town and gown collaboration towards solving security-related issues in our society in general.”
Aluko said the lecture was expected to provide “raw materials and evidence-based data that will drive robust intellectual engagement in security management and peace studies in particular and in social sciences in general.”
The event also featured the public presentation of a 54-chapter book titled Perspectives on Security Management in Nigeria, edited by Prof. Isaac Albert, Prof. Benjamin Aluko and Ambassador Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai.