The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generated N1.75 trillion in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, exceeding its quarterly target of N1.645 trillion by N106.5 billion.
This performance reflected a 29.96% increase compared to the N1.35 trillion recorded in Q1 2024.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed the figures during a press briefing held on Monday, April 22, in Abuja, as contained in a statement released by the service.
Adeniyi highlighted that the milestone was a result of ongoing reforms and improved enforcement efforts under the current administration.
“I’m pleased to report the Service’s revenue collection for Q1 2025 totaled N1,751,502,252,298.05 (One Trillion, Seven Hundred and Fifty-One Billion, Five Hundred and Two Million, Two Hundred and Fifty-Two Thousand, Two Hundred and Ninety-Eight Naira, Five Kobo).
“Against our annual target of N6,580,000,000,000.00, the first quarter’s proportional benchmark stood at N1,645,000,000,000.00. I’m proud to announce we’ve exceeded this target by N106.5 billion, achieving 106.47% of our quarterly projection. This outstanding performance represents a substantial 29.96% increase compared to the same period in 2024, where we collected N1,347,705,251,658.31,” the Comptroller-General was quoted to have said.
In January 2025, the Service collected N647.88 billion, exceeding its monthly target by 18.12% and marking a significant 65.77% increase compared to January 2024. This upward trend continued in February and March, with collections of N540.11 billion and N563.52 billion respectively—both figures surpassing their monthly targets.
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Adeniyi attributed the strong performance to measures aimed at closing revenue leakages, strengthening inter-agency collaboration, and promoting voluntary compliance. He said the 29.96% year-on-year increase in Q1 revenue, combined with consistent monthly improvements, confirmed that their current strategy was working.
He noted that anti-smuggling operations led to 298 seizures with a total duty-paid value of N7.7 billion in Q1 2025. While this marked a 78.41% increase from Q4 2024, it was 19.7% lower than Q1 2024.
- The Customs boss explained that the year-on-year drop indicated improved trade compliance rather than a lapse in enforcement.
- Other highlights from the briefing included a rise in trade volume and processing activity. The service processed 327,928 import declarations involving goods worth N14.8 trillion and a combined weight of nearly 5 billion kilograms, a significant increase from Q1 2024 figures.
- Adeniyi also cited initiatives like the Authorized Economic Operators programme, the B’Odogwu Customs platform, and a new social investment project tagged Customs Cares, which aims to strengthen stakeholder engagement and public trust.
He further revealed that the service supported the Federal Government’s food security efforts through targeted import duty exemptions on essential items like rice, maize, and sorghum. These exemptions, he said, helped ease pressure on food prices, which dropped by between 12 and 18 percent within the quarter.
The service says it remains committed to trade facilitation and transparency as it builds on its Q1 momentum ahead of the mid-year revenue target.
