Customs Vows to Sustain Fight Against Money Laundering

By Zainab Uzomah|Abuja

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has pledged to sustain efforts to combat money laundering and prevent Nigeria from returning to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, gave the assurance on Monday through the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Kikelomo Adeola, at a stocktaking meeting at the Customs headquarters in Abuja.

The meeting was organised to prepare Nigeria for its next Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) mutual evaluation.

Nigeria was removed from the FATF grey list on 24 October 2025, following reforms to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework.

Adeola described the development as a major national achievement, stressing the need to sustain the progress and address existing gaps ahead of the next evaluation.

She commended the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for its initiatives to strengthen the country’s preparedness, expressing confidence that Nigeria would not return to the grey list.

The Customs Service chief said the agency’s role in facilitating legitimate trade and monitoring cross-border movement of goods placed it in a strategic position to support the fight against illicit financial activities.

However, she stressed the need for collaboration among relevant institutions, noting that no single agency could effectively tackle the challenge alone.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hafsat Abubakar, represented by the Chief Operations Officer for Law Enforcement Support and Coordination, Emmanuel Sotande, said the meeting provided an opportunity to assess progress, identify outstanding gaps and strengthen institutional readiness.

Sotande said Nigeria’s removal from the FATF grey list was achieved through collective efforts, adding that the priority was to demonstrate lasting effectiveness in implementing measures to protect the country’s financial system.

He said the Customs Service contributed to the framework through its access to import and export records, cargo documentation and border intelligence, which complement the financial intelligence gathered by the NFIU.

According to him, effective information sharing and coordinated enforcement would help authorities identify suspicious networks, trace illicit proceeds and take appropriate action against financial crimes.

Background: Why Nigeria Was Placed on the FATF Grey List

Nigeria was placed on the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list in February 2023 after the global financial crime watchdog identified strategic deficiencies in the country’s measures to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation. The listing followed concerns raised in Nigeria’s mutual evaluation process and required the country to implement an agreed action plan.

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/Increased-monitoring-february-2023.html

The FATF grey list, formally known as the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, identifies countries working with the organisation to address weaknesses in their systems for tackling illicit financial activities. It is distinct from the FATF’s blacklist of high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action.

Nigeria subsequently embarked on reforms covering financial intelligence, international cooperation, risk-based supervision, transparency of corporate ownership, investigations and prosecutions of money laundering and terrorist financing, and the detection of illegal cross-border currency movements.

On October 24, 2025, the FATF announced Nigeria’s removal from the grey list after the country completed its action plan and demonstrated progress in strengthening its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework. The organisation said Nigeria would continue working with the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) to sustain and improve its compliance.

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfgeneral/outcomes-FATF-plenary-october-2025.html