Authorities introduce electronic airport customs clearance to eliminate wait times

The Nigeria Customs Service has introduced the Simplified Customs Advanced Declaration System, or SCADS, at the International Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, with the goal of streamlining passenger clearance, compliance, and operations.

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This new platform is designed to simplify the process of declaring baggage for inbound international passengers, and is expected to reduce manual bottlenecks, increase transparency in revenue assessment, and enhance operational efficiency at Nigeria's international airports.

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According to the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of ICT/Modernisation, Oluyomi Adebakin, the launch of SCADS marks a significant milestone in the Service's digital transformation agenda, which was made necessary by operational challenges encountered on the Service's previous passenger declaration platform earlier this year.

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Adebakin noted that rather than allowing these setbacks to hinder operations, the Service chose to develop a more efficient alternative, saying "When the earlier platform experienced operational challenges, we chose not to see it as a setback, we saw it as an opportunity to build something better, stronger and more efficient".

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The SCADS platform allows passengers to declare items before arrival, thereby reducing clearance time while improving compliance and operational integrity, and according to Adebakin, it creates an opportunity for advance declaration before arrival, resulting in faster clearance, easier compliance, and smoother movement through airports.

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Adebakin further explained that the system will eliminate subjective revenue assessment by ensuring that duties are automatically generated based on declared items, their quantities, and their actual values, stating "When we talk about revenue collection, it is not about collecting more or less, it is about collecting the right revenue".

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With this system, assessment will now be more objective, accurate, and driven by data, according to Adebakin, who said "With this system, assessment will now be more objective, accurate and driven by data".

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Comptroller Victoria Alibo, the Customs Area Controller, FCT Area Command, described the selection of the Command for the pilot phase as a testament to its operational capacity, and disclosed that the pilot phase will run for five days, from Monday, 18 May to Friday, 22 May 2026.

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During this period, officers will evaluate the system in a live environment ahead of its nationwide deployment, as part of the Service's efforts to improve its operations and services.