The Nigeria Customs Service says it collected a record N6.105 trillion in 2024. Yet a rights group has accused the Service and its operatives of running a parallel system that allows clearing agents and some officers to short-pay duties and siphon large sums from the public purse.
The charge is stark. If true it explains how headline revenue figures can coexist with persistent gaps in remittances and a budget that looks increasingly detached from delivery.
At a press briefing in Abuja the Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative, EUYI, alleged that NCS personnel and clearing agents operate a criminal arrangement known colloquially as short pay.
Under that scheme import consignments are evaluated at lower values than declared and the difference is shared between the agent and the evaluating officer.
EUYI gave an example of a vehicle where N3.6 million was collected from the importer, only N2.1 million was paid to government and N1.5 million was diverted.
The group says similar arrangements are pervasive and that management have been slow or unwilling to act on complaints.
To understand the scale of the claim we need to square two facts. First the NCS told the public it vastly outperformed its 2024 target, processing a much larger trade value and reporting its highest ever collections.
The Service’s own reports show an ambitious revenue target and the operational language of modernisation and digitisation.
Second, long standing reporting by national titles and industry stakeholders has repeatedly flagged how freight forwarders and some officers collude to under-declare duties especially on second-hand vehicles and certain consumer imports.
These investigations describe practices that reduce the effective duty paid and undermine public confidence.
Budget papers add another layer of concern. The NCS budget for 2024 was around N706.4 billion while the Service presented a proposed N1.132 trillion budget for 2025.
Yet EUYI and other critics point to apparent mismatches in line items, unexplained balances carried forward and sudden inflation in personnel and recruitment costs without transparent justification.
When a revenue agency books multi-trillion naira collections while its own budgets contain inconsistent entries it demands independent scrutiny.
Why does short pay matter beyond lost revenue? Short pay subverts trade statistics and distorts policy. Revenue figures that are inflated on paper but not transparently remitted make macroeconomic planning riskier.
International partners and investors rely on accurate customs data for balance of payments and trade policy. Domestically it deepens the grievance of citizens who see a swollen budget line for an agency while suffering the effects of poor public services. It also corrodes the rule of law inside a crucial border institution.
There are known vulnerabilities. Low-value consignments, informal import routes and the multiplicity of actors in the clearance chain create friction points.
The World Customs Organisation and FAO summaries of Nigerian practice have for years noted how e-commerce and low-value shipments pose collection challenges when data is incomplete or when processes are treated as general cargo.
Post clearance audit regimes are on the statute book but uneven implementation and weak follow up reduce their deterrent effect. Technology can help but only if it is deployed with real governance reforms.
The political context matters. The Comptroller-General’s tenure was extended by the Presidency in July 2025. That decision has become another focal point for critics who argue that extension without perceived accountability fuels suspicion about institutional capture.
EUYI went further by calling for investigations and even urging public pressure on the leadership.
Whether the tenure move was motivated by continuity of reform or by political calculation, the optics sharpen calls for prompt, credible and transparent oversight.
What should be done. First, the National Assembly’s oversight committees must treat the EUYI allegations as a prima facie matter for enquiry. Petitions from civil society fall squarely within legislative remit.
A public hearing with sworn testimony from clearing agents, importers and whistleblowers would surface documentary trails and allow the Senate or House to order targeted forensic audits.
Second, the Presidency should support an independent forensic audit of 2022–2024 remittances and budget execution in the NCS. The audit should be published and its recommendations scheduled for parliamentary follow up.
Third, strengthen post-clearance audit and cargo valuation units with protected whistleblower channels and automatic cross checks against port arrival and manifest data.
Fourth, accelerate full end-to-end digital processing including mandatory pre-arrival declaration verification and electronic remittance receipts accessible to taxpayers.
There are precedents. Where customs services globally reduced human discretion around valuation and moved to risk-based, data driven assessments, leakage fell.
Nigeria’s own modernisation roadmap speaks to these paths but words must be matched with audits, prosecutions and systemic incentives for compliance.
If managers resist transparency there must be consequences that do not allow the agency to self-police in matters of alleged collusion.
Finally, civil society has a role. Public interest groups must press for access to the audited accounts and the columns in the NCS budget that explain balances and recruitment costs.
The Treasury should publish remittance ledgers that reconcile collections, transfers to Federation accounts and any permitted service-retentions.
The claims by EUYI are too serious to be filed away as noise. A revenue agency can record record collections on paper and still be bleeding the economy through backdoor deals.
Nigeria cannot afford opaque gains. If the NCS is to be a true engine of economic recovery it needs independent verification of its books, an end to short pay if it exists, and a clear path for sanctions and reform where wrongdoing is proven.
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