The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in collaboration with the United States Government, has commenced a two-day workshop to sensitise stakeholders on measures to curb the illicit movement of currency and other monetary instruments across Nigeria’s borders.
The workshop, which commenced on Monday, 17 August 2026, in Lagos, brings together representatives of government agencies, ground-handling companies, cargo operators, airline executives and other key industry stakeholders.
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.
“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.
Comptroller Nwokorie stressed that enforcement measures should not be misconstrued as barriers to legitimate commercial activities or international travel, noting that the Service’s objective was to balance trade facilitation and enforcement.
Speaking earlier, the Director of Finance at the Global Centre on Cooperative Security (GCCS), Daniel Grimshaw, said the training was central towards the efforts to combat terrorism financing and other crimes involving the movement of value across borders.
“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 strengthen participants’ understanding of the digital currency declaration system, improve compliance and deepen public-private collaboration in tackling illicit financial flows through Nigeria’s international borders.
