Apapa area command of the Nigeria Customs Service has partnered with ICPC to deepen intelligence sharing and strengthen anti-corruption systems for improved revenue.

The customs area controller, Emmanuel Oshoba, stated this when he led his management team on a courtesy visit to the ICPC office in Lagos on Tuesday.

Mr Oshoba said the visit was in line with the directive of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Bashir Adeniyi, to reinforce inter-agency collaboration under the Service’s three policy pillars of consolidation, collaboration, and innovation.

He said an effective partnership with ICPC was crucial to achieving Customs’ core mandates of revenue generation, trade facilitation, and national security. He noted that integrity and accountability must remain central to the operation of ports.

“My background in intelligence makes this collaboration particularly important, because without information, nothing works. We are committed to sustaining intelligence-driven engagement with ICPC to ensure transparency, strengthen internal controls, and promote preventive enlightenment among our officers,” Oshoba said.

He noted that the partnership would support Customs’ efforts to build a more ethical workforce through joint training, sensitisation, and compliance programmes focused on anti-corruption regulations and responsible conduct.

According to him, the command will also welcome ICPC officers to future engagements to help shape behavioural and attitudinal change among port stakeholders.

Mr Oshoba appealed for the ICPC’s understanding in handling issues arising from genuine human errors, adding that while no officer is perfect, the focus should be on strengthening systems to reduce both intentional and inadvertent violations.

He added, “Customs and ICPC are not rivals but partners working on the same national project. We must maintain open communication, identify loopholes, and close corruption risks that weaken the port environment.”

ICPC’s resident anti-corruption commissioner, Chukwurah Alexander, commended the Customs leadership for its proactive approach to institutional integrity and described the visit as a model of inter-agency partnership.

He stated that the ICPC’s operations were founded on professionalism, civility, and collaboration, and that the Commission’s current focus was on preventive system reviews, ethical training, and strategic advisory support, rather than relying solely on punitive enforcement.

Mr Alexander explained that corruption had reached a level that threatened national stability, urging all public institutions to stop masking their weaknesses and to embrace collective reform.

He recalled that the previous collaboration between ICPC and the Apapa Command had contributed significantly to the high revenue performance, noting that the Commission had provided valuable intelligence inputs that shaped Customs operations earlier in the year.

“ICPC will continue to provide credible information, conduct system audits, offer advisory services, and facilitate regular staff enlightenment. However, we will not hesitate to expose or remove clogs in the wheel of progress when necessary,” Mr Alexander assured.

He advised Customs officers to be mindful of the fine line between legitimate administrative actions and corrupt practices, stressing that ignorance of the law was not an excuse.

“Even minor acts such as unauthorised gifts, misuse of auction processes, or diverting funds meant for specific purposes can attract severe sanctions,” he warned.

Mr Alexander added that ICPC was shifting more aggressively toward preventive collaboration as directed by its chairman, given that prosecution alone was costly and time-consuming.

He called for stronger national ownership of the anti-corruption campaign, urging Customs to sustain its leadership role as one of the country’s most critical revenue-generating agencies.

(NAN)