The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has secured international recognition for its corporate social responsibility efforts after its Customs Cares programme won the Commonwealth Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Gold Award, a development that reinforces the agency’s push to reposition itself as a modern public institution with responsibilities extending beyond revenue collection and border enforcement.
The award, presented in Glasgow, Scotland, recognises organisations implementing measurable, community-driven projects that advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The organisers cited the NCS’ interventions in education, healthcare, food security and environmental sustainability, alongside its Hub-and-Spoke Community Activation Model, as key factors behind the recognition.
The award comes as the Customs Service seeks to strengthen public confidence while expanding its role in Nigeria’s economic reform agenda.
Under Comptroller-General of Customs Adewale Adeniyi, the Service has pursued a broader institutional strategy that combines revenue mobilisation, trade facilitation and border security with community engagement, a shift analysts say aligns with global best practices for customs administrations.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Comptroller-General, Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Timi Bomodi, said the recognition validates the Service’s belief that public institutions should create value beyond their statutory mandates.
Adeniyi said the Customs Cares initiative has reached more than 10 million Nigerians across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory through school rehabilitation projects, healthcare interventions, potable water schemes, food support programmes and the Green Borders Initiative.
“Beyond every classroom renovated, every borehole commissioned and every tree planted is something even more enduring; trust,” he said.
The recognition is expected to strengthen the Service’s institutional reputation at a time when customs administrations are increasingly assessed not only by their revenue performance but also by their contribution to sustainable development, environmental stewardship and social inclusion.
For an agency that plays a central role in facilitating trade and supporting Nigeria’s fiscal position, stronger public trust could also improve stakeholder engagement with importers, exporters and host communities.
Comptroller in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility, Mbwiduffu Ibrahim, said the award would encourage the Service to expand its community interventions, while the organisers said the recognition underscores the Nigeria Customs Service’s evolution into a customs administration that integrates economic, environmental and social objectives into its operations.
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