Nigeria

Nigeria’s trade is defined by import demand: consumer goods, machinery, vehicles, food products and industrial inputs flow into Africa’s largest consumer market, while non-oil exports — agricultural products, minerals and manufactured goods — grow from a smaller base. The commercial energy is real, and so is the fraud exposure that follows large, fast-moving markets.

For international suppliers, Nigeria is a market where verification is the first step, not the last: advance-payment fraud targeting exporters is documented and recurring. Escrow structures protect both honest parties — the Nigerian importer who wants goods, and the foreign supplier who wants payment — by making neither depend on the other’s good faith.

Imports clear under Nigerian customs procedures with duty structures and import-prohibition lists that change with policy; Central Bank foreign-exchange frameworks shape payment channels and documentation. SONCAP conformity requirements apply to many product categories before shipment.

Commercial disputes route through Nigerian courts or arbitration — the Lagos Court of Arbitration serves growing demand. Payment practice among established counterparties uses LCs and open account; new international relationships increasingly use escrow, which has become a recognised and accepted structure in Nigerian trade.