… equip Command with dedicated women traders facility
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Benin Republic Customs Service have moved to deepen integration at the Sèmè–Kraké Joint Border Post through an interconnected digital system designed to facilitate real-time information sharing, reduce delays and strengthen coordinated risk management.
The initiative, which is expected to ease the movement of goods and travellers across the Nigeria-Benin border, was highlighted on Friday during the assessment and commissioning of facilities at the Joint Border Post.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, said the Nigeria Customs Service had commenced work on closing the systems gap between the two administrations through a common data exchange arrangement.
According to him, the objective is to ensure that declarations lodged on one side of the border are visible to the other administration in real time, while transit consignments can be tracked from origin to destination.
He said risk profiles and enforcement alerts generated by one administration would also reach its counterpart while the information remained useful.
Adeniyi, who described Sèmè–Kraké as one of the busiest land crossings in West Africa, said the physical infrastructure of the joint border post had existed for years, but the absence of systems interconnectivity had prevented it from functioning as a truly integrated facility.
“In plain terms and at the heart of my remarks is the established fact that, without interconnectivity, this is not a joint border post. It is two border posts sharing a car park”, he said.
He noted that the Sèmè–Kraké crossing sits on the Abidjan–Lagos Corridor, which carries about 70 per cent of the sub-region’s transit trade, stressing that every hour lost at the border was multiplied across thousands of consignments and tens of thousands of travellers.
Benin Customs Backs Digital Integration
The Director-General of the Benin Republic Customs Service, Col. Raof Aboudou, said the CDES platform would significantly reduce the stress associated with cross-border movement by allowing both Customs administrations to access information submitted by traders in real time.
He said the system would benefit traders, travellers and other users of the Joint Border Post by reducing delays and improving the coordination of border operations.
“One of the benefits of this CDES platform is that it would reduce stress for stakeholders, and it enables both Customs organisations to access information launched by traders in real time”, Aboudou said.
He added that the joint border post would facilitate coordinated risk management, describing the practice as one of the core values promoted by the World Customs Organisation (WCO).
The Benin Customs chief stressed the importance of involving stakeholders in the implementation of the initiative, noting that traders, transporters and travellers were the first to feel the impact whenever border procedures either worked efficiently or failed.
“When there is smooth movement at any border, it is the stakeholders that enjoy it at the end of the day. When things are not working, they are the ones that also suffer it”, he said.
Aboudou Applauds Adeniyi’s Regional Leadership
Aboudou also commended Adeniyi’s efforts towards modernising Customs operations and strengthening intra-African trade.
He described Africa as fortunate to have Adeniyi serving as the current Chairperson of the World Customs Organization, saying his commitment extended beyond Nigeria to the wider West African and African Customs community.
“We are lucky in Africa, in West Africa, and particularly in Nigeria, to have someone like him”, Aboudou said.
He recalled that shortly after his appointment as Director-General of Benin Customs, Adeniyi contacted him and proposed a visit to the Chirundu One Stop Border Post between Zambia and Zimbabwe to study its operations and explore how its model could be replicated at Sèmè–Kraké.
Aboudou said Adeniyi subsequently brought together the Customs chiefs of Benin and Cameroon for the study visit, where they examined how the one-stop border post operated.
According to him, the visit provided valuable lessons on interoperability, coordination and the efficient deployment of human and material resources.
“We observed that there is better coordination and there is interoperability between the two Customs administrations in Zimbabwe, and also better coordination when it comes to human and material resources”, he said.
He added that the Customs systems at the facility were properly connected, enabling effective communication between the two administrations.
“Consequently, we saw why it is necessary to come and replicate the same system here”, he said.
Customs Targets Seamless Border Operations
Adeniyi said the ongoing integration at Sèmè–Kraké would go beyond digital connectivity, with plans to restore scanning capability, strengthen access control, surveillance and lighting, and establish a standing Nigeria-Benin enforcement and intelligence mechanism.
He also called for harmonised bilingual standard operating procedures covering cargo, passengers, inspection, transit and incident escalation.
Joint risk management, he said, would enable Customs administrations to focus resources on high-risk consignments rather than subjecting every shipment to the same level of scrutiny.
He further advocated a joint management structure for the shared infrastructure, supported by preventive maintenance arrangements with clear responsibilities and funding.
Women Traders Get Dedicated Facility
The event also witnessed the commissioning of a dedicated facility for women traders operating along the corridor.
Adeniyi said the initiative was aimed at bringing women engaged in small-scale cross-border trade into the formal system through simplified procedures, accessible information and stronger protection against harassment and informal demands.
He said women constitute more than 70 per cent of informal cross-border traders across Africa, while women traders along the corridor had reported harassment, extortion and delays as recurring challenges.
The facility is expected to provide simplified procedures for small consignments, information in languages commonly spoken by traders, accessible points of contact and a channel for complaints.
The high point of the event was the commissioning of the facilities, including the women’s centre, a mosque and a public facility, as part of efforts to improve conditions for users and strengthen the functionality of the Joint Border Post.
‘Integration Must Be Felt at the Border’
Adeniyi said the ultimate measure of success would not be the number of agreements signed or the quality of buildings commissioned, but the practical experience of people and businesses using the border.
He said the objective was for a truck moving goods from Cotonou to Lagos to clear the border once instead of twice, for a woman trader to cross in an hour rather than a day, and for Customs officers on both sides to have access to the same relevant information.
“These are the tests, and they are all technical, and all of them are within our power to pass”, he said.
He said a successful Sèmè–Kraké model would provide a template for other border crossings across the region and contribute to deeper economic integration between Nigeria and Benin.