The Nigerian government claims that the service in recent times has redeemed its image from a corruption riddled government agency to a new organization, that has cleaned itself of corrupt practices pointing to the fact that since the year 2017 its revenue contribution to the country continue to rise above one trillion Naira annually.
According to Transparency International's 2010 Global Corruption Barometer, more than half of local households surveyed attested to paying bribes to NCS officers in 2009.
[7] To date, compromised staff, complex regulations and bureaucracy surrounding the import and export of goods has nurtured an environment in which bribes are commonly paid.
Notably, a number of foreign companies have been involved in fraud and corruption scandals in recent years: In addition to legal cases involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), many Nigerian businesspeople face everyday situations where customs officials ask for bribes to let their goods pass through customs smoothly.
[13][14] On the other hand, some customs officials may even demand bribes to allow illegal goods to be smuggled in: Despite the detailed allegations, the NCS has yet to respond, and this has led many activists to call for far-reaching reforms[17][18][19] that would place corruption at the back seat and seal up revenue leakages.