Nigeria Must Not Return to FATF Grey List, Customs Warns
The Nigeria Customs Service has called for sustained collaboration among financial intelligence and law enforcement agencies to protect Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list and strengthen the country’s fight against illicit financial activities.
The Service said Nigeria’s removal from the international watchlist on October 24, 2025, represented a major achievement that must be protected through continuous reforms, effective enforcement and improved coordination among relevant institutions.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Kikelomo Adeola, stated this on Monday, October 26, 2026, during a stocktaking meeting at the Customs headquarters in Abuja.
The meeting focused on assessing Nigeria’s preparedness for its next Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) mutual evaluation.
Adeola urged stakeholders to use the exercise to examine the country’s progress, identify weaknesses and develop strategies to ensure that the gains recorded since Nigeria’s removal from the FATF grey list were sustained.
She warned that failure to address existing gaps could undermine the progress already achieved.
According to her, the meeting was not merely about reviewing policies and procedures but about determining the steps required to strengthen Nigeria’s financial crime prevention framework.
“It is an opportunity to take an honest look at the progress Nigeria has made so far, identify the gaps that presently exist and ensure that Nigeria’s achievements are sustained, because if they are not, it is like one step forward, two steps backwards, and that should not be our portion,” she said.
The Customs official praised the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for its ongoing initiatives and programmes designed to prepare Nigeria for the next evaluation.
She expressed optimism that the country would maintain its progress and avoid being placed back on the FATF grey list.
“I believe Nigeria will never go back to that grey list,” Adeola said.
She further noted that the Customs Service occupies a strategic position in combating illicit financial activities because of its responsibility for border enforcement, cargo monitoring and the facilitation of legitimate international trade.
However, she stressed that the Service could not tackle the challenge in isolation, calling for stronger cooperation among government institutions responsible for financial intelligence and law enforcement.
“A tree does not make a forest,” she said.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Hafsat Abubakar, represented by the Chief Operations Officer, Law Enforcement Support and Coordination, Emmanuel Sotande, said the meeting provided an opportunity to measure progress and identify areas requiring further attention.
He explained that the forthcoming evaluation would assess how effectively Nigerian institutions implemented the standards established to safeguard the country’s financial system.
Sotande described Nigeria’s removal from the FATF grey list in October 2025 as a collective achievement that required continued commitment from all relevant agencies.
“Nigeria’s exit from the FATF grey list in October 2025 was a significant achievement that we all achieved by working together,” he said.
He added that the priority was now to preserve the gains and demonstrate that Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework was producing sustainable results.
Sotande also highlighted the importance of the Customs Service in identifying suspicious cross-border activities, noting that its responsibilities extended beyond revenue generation, trade facilitation and border security.
“Customs plays a vital role in detecting suspicious transactions and activities across borders,” he said.
He explained that Customs officers have access to critical information, including import and export records, cargo documentation, trade data and border intelligence, which can support the work of the NFIU.
According to him, integrating these sources of information through timely intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement would improve the ability of authorities to detect suspicious networks, trace proceeds of crime and take appropriate action.
“When these capabilities are effectively connected through timely information sharing and coordinated action, we are better positioned to identify suspicious networks, trace illicit proceeds and support appropriate enforcement measures,” he added.
The meeting forms part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s institutional capacity and improve coordination among relevant agencies ahead of the country’s next mutual evaluation.
