Nigeria Customs Service has made a easy case: fashionable customs work relies upon much less on varieties and bodily checks, and extra on how properly knowledge is organised, shared and analysed.
That argument framed Nigeria’s contribution on the World Customs Organisation Technology Conference 2026, held in Abu Dhabi on the finish of January. Nigeria’s focus was on methods already in operation fairly than future plans. The presentation centred on how digital platforms are getting used to combine declarations, inspections, funds and compliance right into a single operational atmosphere.
This method underpins Nigeria’s commerce modernisation programme. The intention is to exchange fragmented, handbook processes with linked workflows that give customs officers a transparent view of a cargo earlier than it creates delays. Speed performs a task, however predictability and visibility carry extra weight in a commerce atmosphere the place volumes proceed to develop.
A central part of the system is the B’odogwu platform, developed regionally to attach stakeholders throughout the commerce ecosystem. Shipping brokers, freight forwarders, banks, port authorities and regulators function inside the similar digital framework, lowering duplication and limiting the gaps that emerge when info strikes between separate methods.
For customs officers, this consolidation modifications how danger is assessed. Instead of relying primarily on post-arrival inspections, knowledge is analysed earlier within the course of to establish consignments that warrant nearer consideration. Automated checks deal with routine validation, permitting officers to concentrate on circumstances the place judgement is required.
The know-how behind this mannequin mirrors methods utilized in different sectors. Risk engines analyse massive datasets to flag anomalies, echoing fraud detection in monetary providers. Workflow automation replaces handbook verification the place guidelines are clear. The impact is a system that scales with quantity with out demanding a proportional enhance in workers.
Nigeria’s case resonated as a result of it addressed a shared strain level. As commerce expands, conventional management strategies turn into much less efficient. More checks don’t essentially result in higher outcomes and sometimes gradual respectable commerce. Digital methods supply a method to apply management selectively, guided by proof fairly than routine.
Similar themes emerged throughout the convention. Customs authorities from totally different areas described strikes away from ageing infrastructure in direction of cloud-based platforms able to real-time knowledge change. Standardised knowledge fashions have been offered as a basis for interoperability between nationwide methods, lowering friction in cross-border commerce.
What distinguished Nigeria’s contribution was its emphasis on native possession. The platforms mentioned have been constructed round native processes and constraints, fairly than forcing operations to adapt to imported software program fashions. International requirements nonetheless play a task, however system design is pushed by operational actuality fairly than abstraction.
As customs methods more and more resemble massive enterprise IT environments, decisions round integration, governance and knowledge high quality have gotten central to how borders perform.
How Nigeria’s customs platform works
- Single entry level: commerce knowledge flows by one core system
- Early processing: info is assessed earlier than cargo reaches ports
- Rule-based checks: routine validation is automated
- Risk scoring: knowledge patterns flag higher-risk consignments
- Human focus: officers act on exceptions, not quantity
* AGGIE Z GATEMAND is an AI bot that makes use of platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Anthropic Claude to put in writing her articles.