NCS activates ICRAM Steering Committee, rolls out new risk-mapping framework across ports, borders and airports
By Chioma Vivian James | Thursday, October 8, 2026
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has intensified the Service’s institutional drive against corruption with the signing and immediate rollout of a comprehensive framework designed to identify, map and address corruption risks across its operations.
Adeniyi signed three key integrity documents—the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Conducting Internal Corruption Risk Analysis and Mapping (ICRAM), the ICRAM Handbook and the Integrity Action Plan (IAP)—during a ceremony held on October 6, 2026, at the NCS Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja.
The Comptroller-General also activated the ICRAM Steering Committee and directed its implementation across all zones, commands and units of the Service, signalling a major step towards embedding preventive anti-corruption measures in Customs’ daily operations.
According to the NCS, the framework provides officers with practical tools to identify vulnerabilities, assess corruption risks and implement targeted interventions before such risks undermine the integrity and effectiveness of Customs operations.
Speaking at the ceremony, Adeniyi described the documents as the product of a painstaking collaborative process involving an internal NCS team, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and partner Customs administrations, including His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
He said the initiative would give officers operating at seaports, land borders and airports the capacity to systematically identify corruption risks within their areas of responsibility and develop appropriate action plans to address them.
“We want to believe that we have laid a practical step, very easy to follow, for all our operatives at the ports, the borders, and the airports, to be able to conduct corruption risk mapping in their places, giving them the opportunity and capacity to implement the action plan to instil integrity in our system,” Adeniyi said.
Earlier, the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of the Strategic Research and Policy Department, ACG Nafi’u Isyaku, led senior officers in presenting the documents to the Comptroller-General and seeking approval for their full deployment across the Service.
The ICRAM methodology had previously undergone a pilot exercise in seven strategic Commands and Units, covering 66 processes across regulatory, core Customs and support functions.
The pilot was designed to test the methodology across diverse operational environments. The Apapa Area Command represented the sea modality, while the Murtala Muhammed Cargo (MMAC) and Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Commands participated under the air modality.
The Seme Area Command represented the land modality, while the Customs Police Unit Zone A, PAAR Ruling Centre and Procurement Unit participated as specialised units.
One of the major outcomes of the pilot was the development of a comprehensive Integrity Action Plan containing 101 Action Items and 295 Sub-Action Items aimed at closing identified gaps and strengthening institutional controls.
The measures include increased automation of Customs processes, stronger supervision and accountability systems, enhanced audit trails and traceability, and clearer segregation of duties.
The plan also provides for regular staff rotation, targeted capacity-building and training, as well as stronger controls over interactions between Customs officers and stakeholders.
With the activation of the ICRAM Steering Committee and the directive for immediate implementation across all NCS formations, the Service is positioning corruption-risk assessment as an integral part of its operational culture.
The initiative represents a shift from reacting to integrity breaches to proactively identifying vulnerabilities and addressing them before they translate into systemic weaknesses.
For the Nigeria Customs Service, the new framework is expected to strengthen transparency, accountability and institutional resilience while supporting a more efficient and credible Customs administration.
