| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1891 |
| Jurisdiction | Federal Ministry of Finance (Nigeria) |
| Employees | 18,000 |
| Agency executive |
|
| Website | customs |
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is an independent customs service under the supervisory oversight of the Nigerian Ministry of Finance, responsible for the collection of customs revenue, Facilitation of both national and international trade, anti-smuggling and security activities.
The NCS is headed by the comptroller general, who oversees the work of seven deputy comptrollers general in the following departments:
The NCS board is chaired by the minister of finance, while the vice-chairman is the comptroller-general.
In addition, the NCS operates a media division with radio and television operations, the Nigeria Customs Broadcasting Network.
The Nigerian government claims that the service in recent times has redeemed its image from a Corruption riddled government agency to a new organization, that has cleaned itself of corrupt practices pointing to the fact that since the year 2017 its revenue contribution to the country continue to rise above one trillion Naira annually.[3]
Despite the claims of the government that the reputation of the service has improved from a corrupt government agency to an agency that has imbibed the spirit of selflessness to the country over self enrichment of its officers, several examples of extensive bribery and corruption allegations still exist.
One example (cited by the government) of an incidence that demonstrated a new customs service was the rejection of the sum of $415,000 bribe by an official of the service Bashir Abubakar, being the money offered to him in order to facilitate the release of containers of dangerous drugs at Apapa Port in Lagos[4]
The Nigeria Customs service is known to have a reputation that has been marred by numerous corruption and fraud scandals across the years. According to Transparency International's 2010 Global Corruption Barometer, more than half of local households surveyed attested to paying bribes to NCS officers in 2009.[5]
To date, compromised staff, complex regulations and bureaucracy surrounding the import and export of goods has nurtured an environment in which bribes are commonly paid. Several companies are also believed to undervalue their goods upon importation to avoid penalties. Yet other companies, operating in the informal economy, resort to smuggling as a means of avoiding legal trade.
Notably, a number of foreign companies have been involved in fraud and corruption scandals in recent years:
In addition to legal cases involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), many Nigerian business people face everyday situations where customs officials ask for bribes to let their goods pass through customs smoothly.[11][12] On the other hand, some customs officials may even demand bribes to allow illegal goods to be smuggled in:
Despite the detailed allegations, the NCS has yet to respond, and this has led many activists to call for far-reaching reforms[15][16][17] that would place corruption at the back seat and seal up revenue leakages.