Nigeria Customs and the NDLEA Truly Mean Business By Tahir Ahmad
In a country constantly tossed between tough headlines and tighter hopes, it is easy to miss the quiet battles being fought — and won — on our borders.
But behind the scanners, surveillance, and sealed containers, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), backed in tight formation by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), is scripting a new kind of national defence — one not built on bullets, but on busts.
This is no routine duty. This is war. A war against substances that are fast sinking an entire generation. A war against cartels that no longer hide in shadows, but boldly operate across oceans. Yet somehow, Nigeria — yes, this Nigeria — is punching above its weight.
Take, for instance, the recent interception of over 1,000 parcels of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as loud, through joint Customs–NDLEA operations. That bust, applauded by none other than the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is not an isolated win.
It is part of a growing pattern of coordination, grit, and intelligence between both agencies. Back in December 2024, they shut down a major syndicate, seizing 1,735 parcels of cannabis indica and 87 packs of methamphetamine at the Tin Can Island Port.
That haul alone was valued at over N2.2 billion. But they were just getting started. Fast forward to early 2025, and the numbers get scarier — or more reassuring, depending on your perspective. Over 26 million tramadol pills.
Nearly 500,000 bottles of codeine syrup. Locations: Lagos and Port Harcourt. Street value? N16.6 billion. Lifespan of destruction if undetected? Unquantifiable. It is no longer guesswork. These seizures are not just media updates; they are rescue missions.
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Every intercepted bag of meth, every carton of codeine, is a life possibly saved — a home not broken, a youth not lost. Then came the March 2025 hit: 3,365 parcels of cannabis and 88 cartons of codeine in Ogun State. Again, these were products destined for communities, motor parks, campuses, and ghettos.
But thanks to sharp intelligence and tighter collaboration, they never made it. Too often, we reduce the Nigeria Customs to revenue collection — and yes, they deliver on that. Trillions. But what rarely makes headlines is how they have become a silent wall between our communities and a looming drug crisis.
In partnership with NDLEA, they are holding the line, seizing not just drugs, but the chaos that would have followed. The synergy is not by chance. From shared intelligence to joint training, these agencies are showing what actual inter-agency collaboration looks like. Not press conferences. Not turf wars.
Just raw, focused teamwork. They are showing the rest of the system — civil service, security, even politics — how to work together for the common good. And let us not forget the man at the helm. CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi is proving that Customs can do more than inspect goods — they can guard futures.
His vision goes beyond local seizures. He is laying the ground for institutional partnerships, like the one with Canada’s Border Services Agency, to keep this fight alive, even as leaderships change and governments rotate. This is a story worth telling. A success worth amplifying. A model worth replicating.
Let us be clear: these are not perfect agencies. But in this fight, they are not failing. They are showing up. Consistently. Quietly. Effectively. So while some wear suits and some wear stars, the ones wearing Customs and NDLEA uniforms are the real-time defenders of our streets.
No sirens, no fanfare. Just hard work, good intelligence, and sleepless nights at the border. And in this Nigeria, that kind of heroism is rare. And worth saluting.
