By Ayomide Otitoju
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has directed the immediate implementation of new anti-corruption measures across all zones, commands and units of the Service.
Adeniyi gave the directive on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, in Abuja, after signing the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for conducting Internal Corruption Risk Analysis and Mapping (ICRAM), the ICRAM Handbook and the Integrity Action Plan (IAP).
He also formally activated the ICRAM Steering Committee to strengthen the identification, assessment and mapping of corruption risks across the Service’s operational and administrative processes.
The Customs chief said the documents were developed through a collaborative process involving an internal team, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and partner customs administrations, including His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
“These two documents are products of a painstaking process which we have undertaken with efforts from an internal team working together with our partners from the WCO and a number of other Customs administrations that have walked this path with us to ensure that we have a Service where integrity leads,” Adeniyi said.
He explained that the framework would provide practical guidance for officers at ports, border posts and airports to identify corruption risks in their areas of operation and implement targeted measures to address them.
“We want to believe that we have laid a practical step, very easy to follow, for all our operatives at the ports, the borders, and the airports, to be able to conduct corruption risk mapping in their places, giving them the opportunity and capacity to implement the action plan to instil integrity in our system,” he added.
Earlier, the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of the Strategic Research and Policy Department, Nafi’u Isyaku, who led senior officers in presenting the documents, sought approval for their full implementation across the Service.
The ICRAM methodology was piloted in seven key commands and units before the formal launch, covering 66 processes across regulatory, core Customs and support functions.
The exercise produced an Integrity Action Plan containing 101 action items and 295 sub-action items aimed at strengthening accountability and reducing corruption risks.
Key measures include increased automation, improved supervision and accountability, stronger audit trails and traceability, clear separation of duties, regular staff rotation, targeted training and tighter controls governing interactions between officers and stakeholders.
The NCS said the framework would provide a structured approach to identifying vulnerabilities and strengthening integrity across its operations.
