The Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, had a collaborative meeting with the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) on February 19, 2024, at the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Corporate Headquarters to promote security and forge strong working relations.
The CGC, while speaking, noted that the primary objective of the collaboration is to maintain and deepen the existing relationships between NCS and the DIA. He emphasized that NCS believes in partnership, stating that cooperation with other Customs administrations and government agencies is a fundamental aspect of growth.
The CGC highlighted some ways in which they have collaborated, particularly in the areas of capacity building and security projects.
“The major objective of this delegation is to maintain and deepen the relationship between the Nigeria Customs Service and the DIA. For the records, the Nigeria Customs Service believes in collaboration. We believe that we can draw strength from collaborating with other government agencies,” he stated.
“We’ve extensively worked with the Armed Forces Command and Staff College to rebuild the capacity of our officers in the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College. Additionally, I’ve personally worked on collaborative security projects in the past, such as the Security Impact Collaboration,” he added.
The Comptroller-General of Customs expressed a desire for deeper partnership with the DIA, particularly in the area of more robust intelligence sharing, which, according to him, would enable the two agencies to address significant security challenges across the border areas and enhance the efficiency of Customs officers.
“It is our strong desire to deepen this kind of partnership to ensure that we benefit more from it,” he said.
Addressing the CGC, Air Vice Marshal Samuel Chinda, Deputy Chief of Defence Intelligence who represented Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Emmanuel Parker, described the collaboration with the NCS as integral to their successes in combating border threats.
Speaking on the need to include officers in various intelligence training, AVM Chinda recalled how the Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College contributed to enhancing the proficiency of Customs Officers.
“We are here to reinvigorate these relationships for future collaborations. Particularly, the Defence Intelligence Agency is open to partnerships in training and operations with the Nigeria Customs Service,” he said.