By Femi Anamelechi
The Nigeria Customs Service has initiated a move to neutralise raging fake news and online scams that dent the Service image with the integration of new-age digital data tracking intelligence tools.The Comptroller-General of Customs disclosed this on Friday, 30 October 2026 at the just concluded Neccipr Roundtable ’26 Edition with the Theme: Algorithm Influence & Public Relations.Speaking at the event, the CGC who was ably represented by the Service National Public Relations Officer, Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Abdullahi Maiwada explained that as a communicator, it is important to ensure the general public understand and accept reasons why officers carry out their duties.”AI is central to our operations as public relations officers because it defines what we do in terms of the role of classification. AI can also use to aid issues of risk management which is timing the risks involved in items coming in so it can be categorized according to their different assessment” he said. Maiwada explained that artificial intelligence can also be used for analysing sentiment to understand how the people perceive Customs activities. He then added that the Service is using every available platform to ensure that only facts are established while working with other agencies to ensure arrest of those behind misleading information.Earlier the convener Neccipr Roundtable ’26, Nkechi Ali-Balogun, stated that the program started with a simple conviction that public relations professionals must not only manage messages but must be involved in leading national discourse.”This year, we confront a question that touches every one of us. When machines decide what we see, who is really shaping the Nigerian mind? Who now controls the flow of information that shapes what Nigerians believe? We live in a rapidly changing world, powered by AI, where a single algorithm can shape political narratives, throw out conspiracy theories, and dictate what millions read, believe, and share” she said. The event also included keynote address from President and Chairman of the Governing Council, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Ike Neliaku, former Federal Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili among other invited dignitaries showing professional readiness to sustain the standard of credible information.
