By Onu Okorue

Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, has signed the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Conducting Internal Corruption Risk Analysis and Mapping (ICRAM), the ICRAM Handbook and the Integrity Action Plan, directing their immediate implementation across all zones, commands and units of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Adeniyi gave the directive on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, during a ceremony at the NCS Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja, where he also formally activated the ICRAM Steering Committee.
The development establishes a systematic framework for identifying, assessing and mapping corruption risks across the Service’s operational and administrative processes.
Speaking at the ceremony, Adeniyi said the documents were the outcome of a painstaking process involving an internal NCS team, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and partner customs administrations, including His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
“These two documents are products of a painstaking process which we have undertaken with efforts from an internal team working together with our partners from the WCO and a number of other Customs administrations that have walked this path with us to ensure that we have a Service where integrity leads,” he said.
According to the CGC, the documents were designed as practical tools to help Customs officers at ports, borders and airports identify and map corruption risks within their areas of operation and implement targeted measures 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 added.
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 and sought approval for their full rollout across the Service.
The ICRAM methodology had previously been piloted in seven key Commands and Units, covering 66 processes across regulatory, core Customs and support functions.
The pilot locations comprised the Apapa Area Command under the sea modality; the Murtala Muhammed Cargo (MMAC) and Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Commands under the air modality; and the Seme Area Command under the land modality.
It also covered three specialised units — the Customs Police Unit Zone A, PAAR Ruling Centre and the Procurement Unit.
The pilot exercise resulted in a comprehensive Integrity Action Plan containing 101 action items and 295 sub-action items.
Key areas identified for action include increased automation, stronger supervision and accountability, improved audit trails and traceability, clearer segregation of duties, regular staff rotation, targeted training and enhanced controls in interactions between officers and stakeholders.
With the signing and activation of the framework, the NCS is expected to deploy the ICRAM methodology across its commands and units as part of measures to strengthen integrity and address corruption risks within its operations.