Nigeria Customs Wins Commonwealth Gold Award for ‘Customs Cares’ CSR Initiative

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has earned international recognition after its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, Customs Cares, won the prestigious Commonwealth Environment and CSR Gold Award in Glasgow, Scotland.

The award, presented on Friday, July 31, 2026, recognises organisations implementing measurable, sustainable and community-driven projects that advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Customs Cares received the top honour for its impactful interventions in education, healthcare, food security and environmental sustainability across communities in Nigeria.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Timi Bomodi, described the recognition as a major milestone in the Service’s ongoing transformation.

“This award is both humbling and inspiring. It affirms our belief that public institutions create their greatest value not only by fulfilling their statutory mandates but by improving lives and strengthening the communities they serve,” Bomodi said.

Reacting to the award, Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, attributed the achievement to the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, noting that the Customs Cares initiative has positively impacted more than 10 million Nigerians across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

According to him, the programme has delivered school renovation projects, healthcare interventions, clean water facilities, food support and the Green Borders Initiative aimed at promoting environmental sustainability.

“Beyond every classroom renovated, every borehole commissioned and every tree planted is something even more enduring—trust,” Adeniyi said.

Also speaking at the event, the Governor of Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya, Muthomi Njuki, stressed the importance of global collaboration in tackling climate change.

“No country can solve the climate crisis alone. Through accountability, partnership, innovation and shared responsibility, the world can become greener, safer and more prosperous,” he said.

The Comptroller in charge of CSR, Mbwiduffu Ibrahim, said the international recognition would inspire the Service to deepen its community development efforts.

“For a long time, we worked believing that the impact in our communities was reward enough. Today, this international recognition tells us that those efforts have not gone unnoticed,” she said.

The award organisers said the Nigeria Customs Service emerged victorious because of its innovative Hub-and-Spoke Community Activation Model, noting that the recognition further strengthens the agency’s reputation as a modern customs administration committed to revenue generation, trade facilitation, border security and sustainable development.