Customs Launches Digital Declaration System to Curb Airport Delays

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has officially launched a new digital platform, the Simplified Customs Advanced Declaration System (SCADS), to streamline passenger clearance and eliminate manual bottlenecks at the nation’s international airports.

Unveiled at the International Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, the technology is designed to end long travel delays, improve compliance, and modernize border operations.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of ICT and Modernisation, Oluyomi Adebakin, stated that the development marks a crucial milestone in the agency’s digital transformation agenda under Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi.

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Adebakin explained that the initiative was conceived following operational hitches experienced on the previous passenger declaration platform earlier in the year. Rather than viewing those technical challenges as a setback, the agency used them as an opportunity to build a much smarter and more robust system.

The newly introduced SCADS platform allows inbound international passengers to log and complete their baggage and commercial item declarations electronically prior to their arrival in Nigeria. By enabling travelers to complete this process in advance, the system ensures significantly faster clearance times and facilitates smoother movement through airport terminals.

Beyond improving passenger processing speed, SCADS is structured to eliminate human bias and subjective revenue assessments. The digital framework automatically computes import duties based on data-driven parameters, specifically looking at the exact items, quantities, and actual market values declared. According to Adebakin, the goal is not to collect more or less revenue, but to ensure that assessments are completely accurate, data-driven, and objective.

Comptroller Victoria Alibo, the Customs Area Controller of the FCT Area Command, noted that selecting Abuja for the rollout demonstrates strong confidence in the command’s operational capacity. Alibo highlighted that SCADS successfully merges baggage and e-commerce declarations into a single, unified digital ecosystem, aligning Nigeria’s border protocols with international standards.

The pilot testing phase for the system runs for five days, from Monday, May 18 to Friday, May 22, 2026. This live environment allows technical teams and officers to fully evaluate the platform’s stability and address any potential software issues before it is deployed to international airports nationwide. The launch event was attended by officials from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), senior customs officers, and key aviation sector stakeholders.