“Honoured” CGC Adebutu Highlights Customs’ Humanitarian Role

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, has reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to supporting humanitarian efforts in Nigeria through expedited clearance of relief items and targeted interventions for communities affected by disasters.

Adeniyi stated this on Thursday, 20 August 2026, in Abuja, while speaking at the United Towns Agency for North-South Cooperation (UTA) International Humanitarian Award and Lecture organised to commemorate the 2026 World Humanitarian Day, where he received an International Humanitarian Award for his contributions to humanitarian causes and people-centred initiatives.

Speaking on the role of Customs in humanitarian response, Adeniyi said the Service had put procedures in place to facilitate the speedy clearance of relief materials, ensuring that humanitarian consignments were not subjected to the same clearance timelines as ordinary imports.

According to him, “There are procedures which the Nigeria Customs Service and other Customs administrations in the world have put in place for speedy and expedited clearance of humanitarian and relief items, so that when they lie in a port, we do not subject them to the regular clearance time that other items are subjected to, and we implement that by all means.”

He said, “We have launched a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, under which we extend humanitarian relief items to affected communities in Nigeria, and we also support President Bola Tinubu’s agenda in providing education, water resources, clothing and other relief items to communities that are affected by disasters.”

Earlier, the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, represented by the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zubaida Umar, charged stakeholders to build stronger systems capable of addressing the root causes of humanitarian crises.

She delivered the Vice President’s speech at the lecture themed, “Breaking the Cycle: Achieving Lasting Solutions to Humanitarian Crises in Nigeria and Beyond.”

Welcoming guests, the UTA Nigeria Country President, Ambassador Abigail Amalaha, said the organisation was pleased to recognise individuals and institutions whose work reflected the values of humanity, compassion and service, adding that Adeniyi’s recognition underscored the growing importance of humanitarian interventions by institutions beyond the traditional humanitarian sector.