Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service
NAQS
About
The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) is a federal government agency of Nigeria responsible for preventing the introduction, establishment and spread of foreign pests and diseases affecting plants, animals and aquatic resources into and out of Nigeria. It carries out inspection, certification, surveillance and enforcement of sanitary and phytosanitary measures relating to agricultural trade. The Service also acts as Nigeria's National Plant Protection Organization under the International Plant Protection Convention. Its work is organised into plant quarantine, animal quarantine and aquatic resources quarantine departments, supported by laboratory, planning, research, finance and procurement functions, and it operates at airports, seaports and land borders.
History
Agricultural quarantine functions in Nigeria were administered through separate departments under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture before the Service was created. NAQS was subsequently established as a statutory body under the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (Establishment) Act, 2018, bringing these quarantine functions within a unified institutional framework. The Act provides for the Service as a corporate body with a governing board and departments covering plant quarantine, animal quarantine, aquatic resources, laboratory management, planning and research, and finance and administration. Vincent Isegbe became the first director-general following its establishment and was appointed to another five-year term by President Bola Tinubu in 2024.
Key Facts
Established
2018
Headquarters
Abuja, Nigeria
Comptroller-General
Vincent Isegbe
Jurisdiction
Federal Government of Nigeria
Abbreviation
NAQS
Website
naqs.gov.ng