Nigeria Customs Breaks Revenue Record With ₦7.28 Trillion in 2025 Collections

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has recorded a historic financial milestone, generating ₦7.28 trillion in revenue in 2025, far surpassing its initial target for the year and reinforcing its growing role in national economic stability and security.

The Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed the figures on Monday while presenting the Service’s performance scorecard at an event marking World Customs Day 2026. According to him, the revenue haul exceeded the earlier projection of ₦6.5 trillion by about 10 percent, reflecting improved efficiency, enforcement, and compliance across Customs operations nationwide.

Beyond revenue, Adeniyi emphasized that 2025 clearly demonstrated what the Customs Service means by “protecting society” in practical terms. He said officers across various commands worked closely with sister security agencies to disrupt criminal supply chains before they could cause harm to communities.

One of the most significant operations took place at the Apapa Port, where officers uncovered 16 containers of prohibited goods valued at over ₦10 billion. The seizure included a dangerous mix of narcotics, expired pharmaceutical products, and concealed firearms, all intercepted in a single coordinated operation.

At Nigeria’s airports, Customs officers also dismantled a major wildlife trafficking ring, intercepting more than 1,600 exotic birds that were being smuggled without the required CITES permits. Officials said the operation not only protected biodiversity but also helped Nigeria meet its international environmental obligations.

Along the country’s land borders, enforcement teams seized illicit drugs, counterfeit medicines, ammunition, and other prohibited items worth hundreds of millions of naira, stopping them from entering local markets through hidden and illegal routes.

While many of these operations may not dominate headlines for long, the Customs boss stressed that their impact is long-lasting. Fewer dangerous drugs reach young people, fewer illegal weapons end up in criminal hands, fewer fake medicines reach patients, and fewer endangered species are removed from the ecosystem.

In total, the Nigeria Customs Service recorded over 2,500 seizures in 2025, with an estimated cumulative value exceeding ₦59 billion. The confiscated items cut across narcotics, fake pharmaceuticals, wildlife products, arms and ammunition, petroleum products, vehicles, and substandard consumer goods.

According to the Service, these actions helped prevent real and measurable harm, including addiction, unsafe medical treatment, violent crime, subsidy abuse, environmental damage, treaty violations, and avoidable loss of life.

Despite the strong enforcement posture, the NCS noted that vigilance must go hand in hand with trade facilitation, signaling a continued commitment to balancing national security with efficient movement of legitimate goods.

The record-breaking revenue and wide-ranging seizures have positioned the Nigeria Customs Service as a key player not only in revenue generation but also in safeguarding public health, security, and the environment.