Nigeria Customs, UK’s HMRC Tighten Ties to Boost Trade

By Olabisi Akinpelu, Correspondent

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the UK’s His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are finalizing a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Agreement (CMAA) to boost information sharing, compliance, and trade facilitation between both nations.

Nafi’u Isyaku, the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs for Strategic, Research, and Policy, represented Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi at a high-level bilateral meeting with the HMRC delegation on Friday, September 26, 2026. Isyaku stated that the meeting aims to finalize the agreement ahead of its scheduled signing in December.

According to ACG Isyaku, both sides negotiated virtually for about six months before meeting physically at the NCS headquarters in Maitama, Abuja, to finalize outstanding issues.

“The meeting is to finalise our Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Agreement (CMAA). We have been doing it virtually for some six months now. We decided to come here in person so that we can finalise the negotiations before the final signing, which hopefully is coming up in the first week of December during the World Customs Organisation Policy Commission meeting.”

Speaking on the engagement, Senior Policy Adviser at His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Syed Moinuddin, described the meeting as an opportunity for both customs administrations to work through areas of cooperation and establish a framework that reflects the interests of the two authorities. He said the engagement had provided an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the NCS and HMRC within the wider customs family.

Also speaking, Louisa Bentley, Head of Bilateral Relations and Agreements at HMRC, said negotiations held over the two days had been successful and that both sides were close to finalising the agreement, adding that “The agreement would boost trade by improving compliance and information sharing between HMRC and the NCS, while also enhancing compliance and trade facilitation to both partners in global trade opportunities.”

She also commended the reforms being implemented by the NCS, following a tour of key facilities at the NCS headquarters, including the Trade Modernisation Project Limited office, Pre-Arrival Assessment Report office and Nigeria Customs Broadcasting Network station, saying, “We have seen significant developments in technology and personnel training, adding that the reforms would support more modern and efficient trade processes.”

The two-day bilateral meeting ended on September 26, 2026, with a tour of key Customs headquarters units.

The tour showcased the NCS’s ongoing reforms and operational developments to the HMRC delegation.