From left: Director General NFIU, Hafsat Bakari receives a souvenir from the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR during the visit in Abuja, recently.

Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, has assured that the service under his watch is more than ever committed to enhancing border security in the country.

The CGC spoke in Abuja, Tuesday, April 16, 2024, when he played host to a delegation of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit NFIU led by the Director General, Hafsat Bakari, who were on a working visit to the Customs headquarters.

The meeting between the Customs management led by CGC Adeniyi and the NFIU DG Bakari, centred around fostering a strong partnership that will enable the two agencies to take measures aimed at enhancing border security through intensifying onslaught against smugglers and money launderers and other terrorism financing activities.

While addressing the NFIU officials, The CGC congratulated the DG, Bakari on her appointment to head the organisation. He expressed Nigeria Customs Service’s commitment to supporting the NFIU by way of establishing a joint team that will be tasked to address some of the pressing issues.

“I want to wish you a successful tenure. I see, through your passion, your commitment to Project Nigeria, and I also see the collaborative spirit that you brought on board. These are all things that I share also because I believe that we can draw strength from each other, assist ourselves, and get things done.

“We need to form an internal team that will be drawn up from our side to review those outstanding issues so that we begin to see, in a determined effort, what we can do” the Customs CG said.

Meanwhile, the NFIU Director-General, Hafsat Bakari, who spoke earlier, applauded the NCS’s resilience and commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s borders, particularly in combating smuggling activities.

Emphasising the importance of information sharing, Mrs. Bakari highlighted that her visit to the Headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service is to establish a cordial relationship with the service in intelligence sharing.

“We recognise the vital role of the NCS in protecting Nigeria’s borders, preventing smuggling of illicit goods, but also in ensuring that those who import goods into our country pay the appropriate fees and levies that are due to the federal government.

“The ultimate goal of the NFIU was to ensure the safety and prosperity of Nigeria. We want to make sure that we have efficient systems, processes and technologies in place to identify the smuggling of currency and other high-value items”, she said.