Seme Border Summit: Customs seeks solutions to illicit activities, safe, smart cross-border trade

Comptroller Wale Adenuga of Nigeria Customs Service(NCS), has kicked off a two-day stakeholders summit at Seme Border to seek ways to improve cross-border trade, reduce crimes, and enhance security through inter-agency collaboration and joint frameworks.

The strategic meeting which kicked off on Monday at the Seme Krake Joint Border Post gathered a colourful mix of representatives from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Army, Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), traditional rulers, and trade associations, including freight forwarders and community leaders.

Comptroller Adenuga who is the controller of the command in his opening remarks said the summit was designed to create a frank platform for dialogue among key players in border operations, with the goal of enhancing trade facilitation and security.

Adenuga emphasized the need for collective honesty and cooperation among stakeholders to address the challenges bedeviling the border axis.

“We are going to work and we will make Seme corridor road a place of sanity. We want everyone to express their minds and tell ourselves the bitter truths. The more we facilitate legitimate trade, the better for our country. When trade thrives, crime reduces. That is the vision our Comptroller-General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, who has consistently championed the cause of building a legacy of trade facilitation; and a conducive environment for economic growth,” he said.

He decried the persistence of unwholesome practices along the Seme route and called on security agencies and border communities to unite in tackling issues that tarnish Nigeria’s image and hinder regional commerce.

The Comptroller revealed that there is a more seamless process for the intervention of vehicles suspected to be conveying questionable items on the Benin Republic axis of the border corridor while the Nigerian side of the road is plagued with irregularities.

The two-day engagement will feature presentations from security agencies, discussions on inter-agency collaboration, and the adoption of a joint framework to promote safer, smarter, and more efficient cross-border trade.

Also speaking at the opening ceremony, the Nigerian Ambassador to Benin Republic, Ambassador Olukayode Olugbenga Aluko; represented by the Defense Attache, Colonel S. Yahaya, assured that the takeaways from the summit will be fully implemented.

Speaking on the plight of residents, Hon. Joseph Agoro, argued that majority of the fight and quarrels on the border corridor are caused by camp boys recruited by security agencies along the border route.

“Multiple checkpoints are already problematic. It is more embarrassing to be stopped by Customs and other security agencies especially Police and you will see someone who is not an officer,(a camp boy) would begin questioning passengers. We wouldn’t know who is attending to us at such time, it breeds friction.

“There is no way residents and villagers wouldn’t complain over such unfair treatments from camp boys. Why should we be harassed just for living along the borders, we have repeatedly asked whether it’s a sin to live along the borders,” he stated.