Nigeria, Benin integrate Customs systems to cut border delays – Daily Trust

Nigeria and Benin Republic are moving to link their Customs systems in a bid to reduce delays at the Sèmè-Kraké border and facilitate faster movement of legitimate goods and travellers along the Nigeria-Benin trade corridor.

The proposed real-time data exchange will enable the two Customs administrations to share declarations, manifests, transit information, risk profiles and enforcement alerts, addressing a major systems gap at the One-Stop Border Post.

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Friday during a joint assessment of the Sèmè-Kraké One-Stop Border Post.

Adeniyi said the two administrations currently operate under the same roof but lack an integrated platform for real-time information exchange.

“Two administrations presently work under one roof, but they do not work on one system. There is still no seamless real-time exchange of declarations, manifests, transit information, risk profiles or enforcement alerts between us,” he said.

He said the NCS had proposed interconnecting the two administrations, adding that work was already underway on a common data exchange arrangement based on the regional transit experience of both countries.

Adeniyi explained that the proposed system would allow a declaration lodged on one side of the border to be visible to the other administration in real time.

It would also enable transit consignments to be tracked from origin to destination, while risk profiles and enforcement alerts generated by one administration could be transmitted to its counterpart while still operationally relevant.

According to him, the initiative is part of efforts to assess the operational readiness of the One-Stop Border Post, review border processes and facilities, and strengthen secure cross-border interoperability.

Adeniyi described the Sèmè-Kraké crossing as a critical trade gateway, noting that it sits on the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor, which carries about 70 per cent of the sub-region’s transit trade.

He said the crossing was among the busiest land borders in West Africa and operated round the clock throughout the year.

“A corridor of that weight does not fail quietly,” Adeniyi said, warning that delays at the border were multiplied across thousands of consignments and tens of thousands of travellers and ultimately reflected in the prices of goods across the region.

“Every hour lost at this gate is multiplied across thousands of consignments and tens of thousands of travellers, and is paid for in the price of goods in markets from Cotonou to Lagos,” he said.

He added that an hour saved at the crossing would translate into savings across the region.

The Customs chief also highlighted the importance of informal cross-border trade, particularly the role of women, noting that women account for more than 70 per cent of informal cross-border traders across Africa.

He said about 22 per cent of Benin’s informal exports were destined for Nigeria, underscoring the importance of the corridor to livelihoods and regional commerce.

The Director-General of Benin Customs, Raouf Malehossou Aboudou, commended Adeniyi for his efforts to strengthen Customs cooperation and cross-border trade between the two countries.

Aboudou said a joint One-Stop Border Post would reduce the stress associated with cross-border movement for traders, travellers and other stakeholders while improving Customs efficiency.

He said closer integration of the two administrations would also promote coordinated risk management, a core principle of the World Customs Organisation.

“The CGC is someone very pragmatic and committed to operations. They visited Zimbabwe to see how One-Stop Border Posts work there,” he said.

“To have a joint border post reduces stress for stakeholders, travellers and everyone that uses it. It gives birth to coordinated risk management, which is one of the core principles of the WCO.”

The initiative is expected to strengthen the Sèmè-Kraké One-Stop Border Post by harmonising procedures, reducing duplication and enabling faster, more transparent movement of legitimate goods and travellers between Nigeria and Benin.