What is now known as the Nigeria Customs Service – a paramilitary organisation, could be said to have been established a little over a century ago when the British Colonial administration appointed Mr. T. A. Wall, in 1891, as the Director-General of Customs for the collection of inland Revenue in Niger Coast Protectorate. This is the formalization of the duties which the Department had been performing under the Royal Niger Company.
The name Department of Customs and Excise emerged in 1922 when the first Comptroller of Customs and Excise, Federation of Nigeria was appointed. Towards the end of 1945, the Customs and Excise Preventive service was established under the leadership of Mr. Nicol – a Briton. This was made up of two divisions – Maritime and Preventive. The maritime Division had the responsibility of collecting import and excise duties and other related functions while the Preventive Division was responsible for enforcement duties which included prevention of smuggling as well as arrest and prosecution of smugglers.
Sequel to the promulgation of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) No. 55 of 1958 the affairs of the Department were brought under the management of a Board. The Chairman of the Board of Customs and Excise was made the Chief Executive Officer of the Department. Mr. E. P. C. Langdon, a Briton, was appointed the first Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1959.
The attainment of independence in 1960 led to the Federal Government's Nigerianisation policy which brought about the appointment of the first Nigerian Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in the person of Mr. Ayodele Diyan in 1964. Decree No. 7 of 1970 granted additional powers with the definition of the membership of the Board.
By virtue of Decree No. 41 of 28th August 1975, all duties were vested in the Director of Customs and Excise. Alhaji Shehu A. Musa was appointed the first Director. On the 1st April, 1977 the first major reorganisation took place, unifying the Technical and Preventive Services into one integrated service where officers and men are to serve in any of the two without hindrance.
The unification structured the Department into five main Directorates:
Each Directorate was headed by a Deputy Director. Mr. Oyebode Oyeleye was the first Director under this new arrangement.
The year 1985 witnessed yet another major structural change as the Department was removed from the Federal Ministry of Finance to Internal Affairs. The Customs, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CIPB) was created with the promulgation of Decree No. 14 of 11th January 1986. The functions of the Department were decentralised through Zonal commands to facilitate decision making process. Zonal Coordinators took charge of the Zones while state heads became Area Controllers. Dr. Bello Haliru Mohammed was the first Comptroller General under this arrangement.
In 1992 the Department of Customs and Excise was transferred back to the Federal Ministry of Finance and in addition its status as a para-military organisation was recognised. It has since been known as Nigeria Customs Service. There was an appropriate alignment of salary grade levels and a re-structuring with what obtains in the Nigeria Police Force.
With the change in Government on November 1993, the Federal Government set up the Major-General Paul Tarfa Panel to probe activities. By 1999, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu Mustapha (OFR) assumed duties as the Comptroller-General, leading the newly structured departments headed by Deputy-Comptrollers-General.
Today, the Service stands as a critical part of Nigeria's fiscal structure and a vanguard in trade facilitation, leveraging technology such as NICIS and B'Odogwu to streamline international trade processes.
NCS Headquarters, Abujaa Tel: +234 703 789 1156