The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, has warned Customs Police officers against abusing their enforcement powers, emphasising the need for discipline, integrity and strict adherence to the rule of law.
Adeniyi gave the warning on Thursday in Abuja during the inaugural Customs Police Summit, where he stressed that the Service must strike a balance between facilitating legitimate trade and combating illicit activities.
He maintained that the Nigeria Customs Service could neither effectively facilitate legitimate trade nor prevent illegal activities without a disciplined, professional and trusted police unit.
“One truth is clear, customs must facilitate legitimate trade and stop illicit trade, and it can do neither of them without a disciplined and trusted police unit to uphold its own standards,” he said.
The Customs boss further stressed that officers must demonstrate integrity in their conduct before demanding the same standards from traders and members of the public.
“The first is that charity begins at home. Before we demand integrity from traders and the public, we must show it as such,” he stated.
Adeniyi also cautioned officers against misusing their statutory enforcement powers, noting that although the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, grants the Service extensive police powers, such authority must be exercised within the limits of the law.
“The second lesson, authority requires restraint. The NCS Act, 2023, gives us sweeping police powers. But every search, arrest and detention must rest on lawful grounds and withstand public and judicial assessment,” he said.
He observed that criminal networks had become increasingly sophisticated, exploiting the same trade routes used by legitimate businesses to transport prohibited and illegal goods across international borders.
According to him, these criminal activities include the smuggling of firearms and their components, narcotics, counterfeit medicines, protected wildlife and illicit financial flows, which are increasingly facilitated through digital channels.
“Criminal networks have grown more sophisticated. They use the same route as legitimate traders to move firearms and components, narcotics, fake medicines, protected wildlife and illicit funds, often through digital channels. Our answers must be smarter. They must not be harder,” Adeniyi stated.
He described the Customs Police Unit as a critical component of the Service’s efforts to combat criminal activities, promote accountability and strengthen enforcement operations.
“The Customs Police Unit sits at the centre of all of this. It ensures that discretion is exercised lawfully, and that interception becomes successful prosecutions. Above all, it is the guardian of integrity,” he added.
Earlier, the Acting Provost Marshal of the Nigeria Customs Police Unit, Deputy Comptroller T.S. Sanusi, reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to strengthening integrity and professionalism within the unit.
Hobnob News reports that the inaugural summit attracted top officials from various Nigerian security agencies, including the Nigerian Navy and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), among other stakeholders.
The summit provided an opportunity to deliberate on the responsibilities of Customs Police officers, the need for accountable enforcement and strategies for strengthening the fight against illicit trade while protecting legitimate commercial activities.
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