FULL LIST: Items Prohibited From Being Imported Into Nigeria

The Federal Government has introduced a revised import prohibition list restricting the entry of several goods into Nigeria from non-ECOWAS countries, in a move tied to its 2026 fiscal policy measures and tariff adjustments.

According to a circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance and signed by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the directive—dated April 1, 2026—lists 17 categories of products now barred from importation outside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The policy is part of broader fiscal reforms aimed at restructuring trade and revenue frameworks.

The circular stated that the import prohibition applies strictly to goods originating from non-ECOWAS member states and forms part of the government’s updated trade regulations. It also introduced a 90-day transition window, beginning April 1, 2026, allowing importers who had already opened Form “M” and entered binding trade agreements before the policy’s commencement to clear their goods at the existing duty rates. However, all new import transactions from the effective date are to be subject to the revised import duty regime.

The policy further confirmed that the new fiscal measures override the 2023 fiscal policy framework and will be officially published in the Federal Government Gazette.

The affected items on the prohibition list include live and frozen poultry products, pork and beef cuts such as tongues and livers, bird eggs (excluding approved hatching eggs for breeding and research), refined vegetable oils with certain exceptions, cane or beet sugar with additives, cocoa products including butter and powder, and tomato products such as paste and concentrates.

Also listed are non-alcoholic beverages with added sugar or flavouring, bagged cement, various pharmaceutical products and waste pharmaceuticals, NPK fertilisers, soaps and detergents, corrugated paper and paperboard products, large-capacity glass bottles, specific flat-rolled steel products, and ballpoint pens with related components.

In addition, the government announced a 2 percent green tax surcharge or excise duty on motor vehicles with engine capacities between 2009cc and 3999cc, as well as those above 4000cc.

The development comes amid wider fiscal adjustments, including recent reports of tariff reductions on selected goods such as cars, palm oil, and sugar as part of ongoing economic policy reforms.