Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has deepened its collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, in a renewed effort to curb money laundering, terrorism financing, and other cross-border financial crimes threatening Nigeria’s economy and security.
The move was reinforced at a two-day capacity-building workshop in Lagos, which brought together officers from key security and financial enforcement agencies including the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS.
The workshop, jointly organised by the NCS and NFIU, aims to improve compliance with financial regulations, enhance intelligence sharing, and strengthen institutional resilience against transnational financial crimes.
The training forms part of the federal government’s broader strategy to safeguard Nigeria’s economy from illicit cash movements, terrorist financing, and money laundering, which continue to undermine national stability and investor confidence.
Declaring the workshop open, the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs, Zone A, Mohammed Babandede, who represented the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, said the initiative reflects NCS’s strategic focus on intelligence sharing and inter-agency synergy to protect Nigeria’s borders from illicit financial flows.
“Inter-agency collaboration remains one of the key policy thrusts of the Comptroller-General’s administration. It has significantly contributed to our national security architecture, especially in countering money laundering and terrorism financing,” Babandede said.
He explained that participants were carefully selected from airports and major land border, areas with high human and cash movement, to enhance operational awareness and proactive enforcement.
“The training will enable participants to exchange ideas, sharpen their detection skills, and develop actionable outcomes. Our goal is to ensure that every officer understands the gravity of illicit financial flows and takes decisive steps to curb them,” he added.
Representing the NFIU, Maryesther Eworitse, Deputy General Manager, Currency Operations Department, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, applauded the Customs Service for fostering strong institutional collaboration.
She revealed that recent joint operations had exposed suspicious cash movements, including one case involving over $6 million intercepted at the Lagos airport.
“We have intensified our monitoring and installed currency declaration kiosks at international terminals. Travellers must be reminded that any cash above $10,000 must be declared, and non-compliance attracts legal consequences,” Eworitse warned.
Similarly, the EFCC Head of Investigations, Lagos Zonal Office, Shehu Muhammad, stressed that effective coordination among agencies is vital for tackling sophisticated financial crime networks.
“The Customs Service leads the currency declaration regime, while the EFCC takes up investigations and prosecutions. Strengthening our synergy means faster results and stronger deterrence against economic sabotage,” Muhammad explained.
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