Customs targets smuggling with AI data analysis tools
By Uzor Odigbo
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it is moving towards a predictive border-management system driven by artificial intelligence, data analytics and digital platforms.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said the transformation would enable Customs to identify high-risk cargo and transactions before they become enforcement problems, while allowing compliant traders to enjoy faster and more predictable clearance.
The Comptroller-General stated this in a paper presented at the 2026 Maritime Training Summit of the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) in Lagos, themed, “The Power of Innovation in a Future-Ready Maritime Training Agenda.”
He said the increasing sophistication of smuggling networks and the growing complexity of international trade had made traditional reliance on physical inspection, paper documentation and manual processes inadequate.
According to him, the key question for modern Customs administrations is no longer how to inspect more cargo, but how to identify the right cargo for intervention without unnecessarily disrupting legitimate trade.
He said the answer lies in “risk management, data analytics, automation and intelligence,” stressing that the NCS was consequently moving from a transaction-focused model to a data-driven, intelligence-led and technology-enabled institution.
Adeniyi said artificial intelligence would be deployed for risk profiling, anomaly detection, cargo targeting, valuation analysis, identification of unusual trading patterns, fraud detection, predictive enforcement and document verification.
He, however, stressed that technology would not replace Customs officers, but would augment their capabilities.
“The future Customs officer will therefore need to understand not only Customs law and procedures but also data, digital systems, artificial intelligence and analytical thinking,” he said.
The Customs boss also highlighted the deployment of the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System, describing it as a major milestone in the Service’s modernisation drive.
He said the indigenous digital platform, initially piloted at the Port and Terminal Multi services Limited (PTML) in October 2024, was designed to support a more efficient, transparent and increasingly paperless Customs environment.
According to him, B’Odogwu is intended to strengthen digital declarations, valuation, risk management, cargo processing, revenue accounting, stakeholder interaction, data analytics, compliance management and inter-agency information exchange.
He also identified the National Single Window, which entered its first phase in March 2026, as a major component of Nigeria’s trade modernisation agenda.
Adeniyi said the system would reduce the burden on traders of navigating multiple government platforms by creating an integrated environment through which trade information could be submitted and securely shared among authorised agencies.
He said the combination of the Single Window, B’Odogwu and other digital systems could produce faster decisions, reduced physical intervention and lower transaction costs.
The Comptroller-General further warned that the increasing digitisation of Customs operations must be matched by stronger cybersecurity, given the sensitive commercial, financial and security information handled by the Service.
He said modernisation must therefore be accompanied by strong authentication, data protection, cybersecurity monitoring, secure information exchange, system redundancy, business continuity arrangements and regular security assessments.
Adeniyi also said the success of Customs modernisation would ultimately depend on the quality of the people operating the technology.
“Technology alone cannot modernise Customs. A sophisticated platform operated by inadequately trained personnel will simply reproduce inefficiency in digital form,” he said.
He called for continuous training of Customs officers in data analytics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital trade, risk management, supply-chain security, international trade agreements, emerging technologies, professional ethics and stakeholder communication.
He also urged maritime journalists and other stakeholders to upgrade their knowledge of the digital trading environment, arguing that the media had an important role in helping Nigerians understand the implications of Customs reforms and technological changes in the maritime sector.
Adeniyi said the next phase of the Service’s transformation would focus on accelerating digital integration, building advanced data capabilities, developing a future-ready workforce, strengthening public-private partnerships and institutionalising innovation.
He said the ultimate objective was to create a Customs administration that could secure Nigeria’s borders and protect national economic interests without turning the borders into barriers to legitimate commerce.
“Our ambition is to facilitate legitimate trade while protecting Nigeria’s economic interests,” he said.
“We must build borders that are secure without becoming barriers to commerce. We must collect revenue without unnecessarily increasing the cost of doing business.”
He added that the Customs administration of the future would be defined not merely by the technology it possessed, but by how intelligently it deployed that technology to protect the economy, facilitate trade and serve Nigerians
