By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The Comptroller-General of Customs and Chairperson of the Council of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), Adewale Adeniyi, made history on Monday, 23 March 2026, as he delivered the keynote address at the opening of the 46th Session of the WCO Enforcement Committee held at the organisation’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
The milestone event marked the first time in the Committee’s 43-year history that its opening session was jointly addressed by both the WCO Secretary-General, Ian Saunders, and the Council Chairperson. This unprecedented development not only underscored the growing strategic relevance of the Enforcement Committee but also positioned the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the centre of a defining moment in global Customs cooperation.
The session further highlighted a major shift in the Committee’s operational outlook, transitioning from a predominantly enforcement-focused platform to a policy-driven body addressing a wider spectrum of contemporary challenges. These include detection technologies, intelligence sharing, supply chain integrity, and trade-based money laundering, all within a more structured and forward-looking framework. The ongoing review of the Committee’s Terms of Reference, last updated in 2009, reflects efforts to align its governance with the realities of an increasingly complex global trade environment.
In his keynote address, the Comptroller-General commended Customs administrations across the world for their sustained efforts in combating transnational organised crime. He emphasised the evolving nature of threats within global supply chains and the urgent need for coordinated, intelligence-led enforcement approaches. “Customs enforcement today is no longer about isolated seizures, it is about protecting the integrity of global trade,” he stated.
As part of its contribution to the session, the NCS is expected to present field-level perspectives on fragile border management, drawing from its operational experience as a frontline administration within one of Africa’s most demanding border environments. These insights are expected to enrich ongoing global discourse and strengthen policy considerations within the enforcement community.
The Comptroller-General concluded his address with a call for deeper collaboration among Customs administrations, noting that “when Customs administrations work together, enforcement becomes stronger, trade becomes safer, and the global economy becomes more resilient.” On the margins of the session, delegates witnessed a live demonstration of drone technology by the Netherlands Customs team, illustrating the growing role of unmanned systems in modern border surveillance.
