The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has strengthened its partnership with the United Kingdom’s His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in a renewed effort to enhance international customs cooperation and improve trade facilitation between both countries.
The development followed a high-level bilateral meeting held in London on March 18, 2026, under the framework of the Nigeria–United Kingdom Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership (ETIP). The engagement took place on the sidelines of the state visit of Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to the United Kingdom.
The meeting was led by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and the Head of International Customs and Border Engagement at HMRC, Megan Shaw. Both sides focused on strengthening customs modernisation, improving transparency in trade data, and expanding operational cooperation to make the Nigeria–UK trade corridor more efficient and secure.
Adeniyi noted that effective customs cooperation plays a vital role in promoting economic growth and sustainable trade. He explained that Nigeria and the United Kingdom maintain a long-standing economic relationship supported by trade in industrial goods, agriculture, energy, and consumer products. According to him, customs administrations remain the frontline institutions responsible for ensuring that trade between both countries is transparent and mutually beneficial.
During the discussions, both sides acknowledged discrepancies in bilateral trade statistics. While Nigeria recorded about £504 million worth of UK imports in 2024, the UK reported exports to Nigeria valued at about £1.7 billion within the same period. To address the gap, the two administrations agreed to explore a structured pre-arrival data exchange between their digital customs platforms to improve risk management, data reconciliation, and compliance monitoring.
The meeting also allowed both countries to present their customs modernisation programmes, including the UK’s use of artificial intelligence-driven trade tools, digital verification systems, and real-time analytics.
Key outcomes of the engagement include plans to develop a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Framework, initiate technical cooperation for capacity building and knowledge exchange, and establish a joint technical engagement mechanism under the ETIP framework.
The NCS reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening international partnerships as part of its broader modernisation drive aimed at improving transparency, efficiency, and competitiveness in Nigeria’s trade environment while supporting the economic reform agenda of the Tinubu administration.