The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in collaboration with the United States Government, has commenced a two-day workshop aimed at strengthening measures to curb the illicit movement of currency and other monetary instruments across Nigeria’s borders.
The workshop, which began on Monday, August 17, 2026, in Lagos, brought together representatives of government agencies, ground-handling companies, cargo operators, airline executives and other stakeholders in the aviation and financial sectors.
Declaring the workshop open, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the Customs Area Controller, Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command, Comptroller Chidi Nwokorie, said the Service remained committed to enforcing the Cross-Border Currency Declaration Regime while facilitating legitimate trade and international travel.
Nwokorie stressed that the movement of currency across international borders was not inherently illegal, provided such transactions complied with established declaration requirements.
“The movement of currency across an international border is not, in itself, a crime. Legitimate businesses and individuals move funds for legitimate purposes. What the law requires is transparency and compliance with established declaration requirements,” he said.
The Customs Area Controller said enforcement measures should not be viewed as barriers to legitimate commercial activities, noting that the objective was to strike an appropriate balance between trade facilitation and effective border enforcement.
He urged participants to familiarise themselves with the applicable regulations and digital declaration procedures to ensure compliance and prevent the misuse of Nigeria’s international borders for illicit financial activities.
Speaking earlier, the Director of Finance at the Global Centre on Cooperative Security (GCCS), Daniel Grimshaw, said the training formed part of broader efforts to combat terrorism financing and other criminal activities involving the movement of value across borders.
Grimshaw noted that the aviation sector was particularly vulnerable to the rapid movement of financial value because of the nature and speed of international travel.
“Aviation, by its very nature, can be an attractive channel for those seeking to move value quickly. That is precisely why your understanding of, and compliance with, the new digital declaration system and the broader legal framework is very important,” he said.
The two-day engagement is expected to deepen participants’ understanding of Nigeria’s digital currency declaration system, improve compliance with cross-border financial regulations and strengthen collaboration between government agencies and private-sector stakeholders.
The initiative is also expected to enhance efforts to detect and prevent illicit financial flows, terrorism financing and other financial crimes through Nigeria’s international borders.
