By Nkechi Eze
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has activated its Internal Corruption Risk Analysis and Mapping (ICRAM) Steering Committee and ordered the immediate implementation of new anti-corruption instruments across its zones, commands and units.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, gave the directive on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at the NCS Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja, where he signed the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Conducting ICRAM, the ICRAM Handbook and the Integrity Action Plan.
Adeniyi said the documents were developed through a collaborative process involving an internal NCS team, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and partner Customs administrations, including His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), with the objective of strengthening integrity across the Service.
“These two documents are products of a painstaking process which we have undertaken with efforts from an internal team working together with our partners from the WCO and a number of other Customs administrations that have walked this path with us to ensure that we have a Service where integrity leads,” he said.
The CGC said the instruments were designed as practical tools to enable Customs officers at ports, borders and airports to identify, assess and map corruption risks within their areas of responsibility, while implementing targeted measures to address identified vulnerabilities.
“We want to believe that we have laid a practical step, very easy to follow, for all our operatives at the ports, the borders, and the airports, to be able to conduct corruption risk mapping in their places, giving them the opportunity and capacity to implement the action plan to instil integrity in our system,” Adeniyi added.
Earlier, the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of the Strategic Research and Policy Department, Nafi’u Isyaku, led senior officers in presenting the documents and sought approval for their full rollout across the Service.
The ICRAM methodology had earlier been piloted across seven key commands and units, covering 66 processes spanning regulatory, core Customs and support functions.
The pilot covered Apapa Area Command under the sea modality; Murtala Muhammed Cargo and Murtala Muhammed International Airport Commands under the air modality; Seme Area Command under the land modality; and the Customs Police Unit Zone A, PAAR Ruling Centre and Procurement Unit as specialised units.
The exercise produced a comprehensive Integrity Action Plan comprising 101 action items and 295 sub-action items aimed at addressing identified corruption risks across Customs operations.
The priority areas include enhanced automation, stronger supervision and accountability, improved audit trails and traceability, clearer segregation of duties, regular staff rotation, targeted training and stronger controls in interactions between officers and stakeholders.
With the formal activation of the ICRAM Steering Committee, the NCS is expected to deploy the methodology across its operational and administrative structures as part of broader efforts to institutionalise integrity and strengthen accountability within the Service.
