The Nigeria Customs Service generated ₦3.35 trillion in revenue between January and May 2026, driven by stronger trade facilitation, improved customs processing and intensified border enforcement operations, putting the agency on a strong early trajectory toward what could be another record full-year collection.
The figure was disclosed Thursday at a joint security news briefing organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja, where the service presented its operational achievements alongside other defence, security and law enforcement agencies. Presenting on behalf of the National Public Relations Officer, Assistant Comptroller of Customs Titus Omajali said the service processed nearly 700,000 import declarations and issued more than 112,000 Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports during the five-month period.
Beyond revenue, the service recorded exports valued at over the five months facilitated through 21,376 export containers. Export performance recovered sharply after falling to $171.76 million in March, climbing to $274.83 million in April and $275.90 million in May, accompanied by a more than doubling of export container throughput from 2,847 units in March to 6,144 in April.
Enforcement operations ran alongside the commercial activity. The service recorded 122 illicit drug seizures, intercepting 375,457 narcotic units with a combined Duty Paid Value of ₦24.33 billion, with narcotics accounting for more than 91% of all seized items. March recorded the highest number of interceptions following major operations that netted over 248,500 units in a single month. The agency also intercepted approximately $789,550 in undeclared and falsely declared foreign currencies across six separate cases, ranging from cash concealed in passengers' baggage to multiple ATM cards allegedly intended for illicit financial transactions. Seventeen wildlife trafficking cases were also recorded, involving 104 live animals and 21 endangered species and products, including pangolins, African Crowned Cranes, worked ivory, buffalo horns and hyena skins.
The five-month haul builds on a strong base. The Customs Service generated ₦7.281 trillion in total revenue in 2025, exceeding its ₦6.584 trillion target by roughly 10% and posting a 19% year-on-year increase over 2024. A significant contributor to that performance was the Authorised Economic Operator programme, which lifted revenue from participating companies by ₦362.79 billion, or 29.68%, with 51 certified companies accounting for 21.77% of total collections as of October 2025.
At ₦3.35 trillion through May, the Customs Service has already collected roughly 46% of what the entire year yielded in 2025 in five months. Whether the pace holds will depend on trade volumes in the second half, exchange rate movements and how quickly the National Single Window digital trade platform, projected for full deployment in 2026, can reduce clearance times and deepen compliance. The numbers so far suggest the agency is not waiting to find out.
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