NCS mulls lifting Seme border vehicle import, after system integration, says Adeniyi

By Onu Okorie

Nigeria Customs Service NCS has hinted that the ban on vehicle imports through the Seme-Krake land border may be lifted once Nigeria and Benin Republic complete an ongoing customs interconnectivity framework designed to facilitate real-time information sharing and strengthen joint border management.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Friday during an assessment visit to the Joint Nigeria-Benin Republic One Stop Border Post. He stressed however, that the removal of the restriction would depend largely on the successful implementation of the emerging trans-border trade information system.
Adeniyi said the two countries currently operate from the same border facility but lack a common system capable of exchanging customs information in real time.
He described the situation as a major impediment to the effective functioning of the joint border post, despite the completion of its physical infrastructure several years ago.
“Without interconnectivity, this is not a joint border post. It is a border post sharing a car park at best,” he said.
The Customs chief said the NCS had offered to help close the technological and operational gaps between the Nigerian and Beninese customs administrations, noting that the initiative would extend beyond vehicle imports to the broader harmonisation of cross-border trade restrictions.
According to him, the proposed common data exchange platform would enable customs declarations lodged on one side of the border to become visible to the other administration in real time.
He added that the system would also facilitate the tracking of transit cargo from origin to destination while allowing risk profiles and enforcement alerts generated by one customs administration to reach its counterpart while the information remained operationally useful.
Adeniyi said the framework was being developed from the experience of regional transit operations and was intended to build greater confidence among customs administrations, freight forwarders, traders and other stakeholders.
He said the objective was to demonstrate that Customs was not merely an enforcement agency but a critical institution for facilitating legitimate trade.
The CG further explained that an interoperable platform would assist traders operating across countries with different languages, currencies and regulatory systems by providing a common technological framework for cross-border transactions.
The development followed a request by the Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Seme Chapter, Alhaji Toyin Wasiu, who appealed for the reopening of the border to vehicle imports.
Responding to the appeal, Adeniyi said the lifting of the ban could become possible after the Nigeria-Benin Republic trans-border trade interconnectivity arrangement had become functional.
He stressed that the removal of existing trade obstacles would be tied to the outcome of the emerging joint border-management and trade-interconnectivity architecture.
“Like the ANLCA Chairman requested in his remarks, we are all here to achieve the process for seamless trade,” Adeniyi said.
He explained that once the interconnectivity scheme became fully operational, the NCS would be better positioned to harmonise trade restrictions and address operational bottlenecks affecting legitimate commerce along the corridor.
The Customs boss also emphasised the importance of building confidence among regulatory agencies, operators and traders on both sides of the border before the vehicle-import restriction could be reconsidered.
The development came against the backdrop of the launch of the Joint Nigeria-Benin Republic One Stop Border Post Assessment, aimed at deepening cooperation between the two customs administrations and improving the efficiency of cross-border trade.
The Directeur Général of Benin Customs, Col. Raouf Malehhossou Aboudou, commended Adeniyi for what he described as a pragmatic and purposeful approach to reinventing customs operational systems to improve trans-border trade.
Aboudou pledged the support of the Benin Customs Administration for the new initiative, particularly the recalibration of joint assessments and efforts to strengthen operational cooperation.
He assured that Benin Customs officers would work closely with their Nigerian counterparts to achieve the objectives of the joint border-management initiative.
The proposed reform has significant implications for the Seme-Krake corridor, where the reopening of vehicle imports would depend not only on a policy decision but also on the ability of both countries to establish an integrated system capable of reconciling declarations, tracking cargo and coordinating enforcement in real time.
The development therefore places digital customs integration and regulatory harmonisation at the centre of any future decision to lift the vehicle-import ban, rather than treating the restriction as an isolated trade policy issue.