Only two Customs checkpoints are approved on Badagry – Seme road, others illegal – Compt. Adenuga

The Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service recently convened a major stakeholder forum, bringing together security agencies, traditional rulers, and customs officials from the Benin Republic. The primary goal was to address trade bottlenecks and harmonize border operations.

A key resolution reached at the forum was the firm decision to reduce multiple checkpoints and curb extortion, ensuring a smoother movement of goods and people without compromising national security.

In this interview with journalists at Seme border Thursday, the Controller of the Command, Comptroller Wale Adenuga, speaks extensively on efforts to streamline border patrol. He clarified that only two official checkpoints- located at Agbara and Gbaji along the Badagry-Seme road are approved by the Customs management.

According to Adenuga, any other checkpoint mounted by Customs officers outside of these two and necessary mobile patrols is considered illegal.

Shulammite Olowofoyeku was there for Maritime Today online. 

Excerpts:

In your remarks, you detailed efforts by your leadership to reduce the number of checkpoints along the Seme- Badagry corridor. Could you please specify the exact number of approved Customs checkpoints and what measures you are taking to ensure officers stick strictly to only those locations?

The approved checkpoints by the Federal Government, which Customs is working in tandem with, are Gbaji and Agbara. That’s for Customs. Any other Customs checkpoint you see is illegal. I can speak for the Seme Command: Gbaji and Agbara are the legitimate, approved checkpoints. Patrols are simply for intervention and reinforcement.

We have a patrol base; some officers are operating there and can easily be called for reinforcement. We have placed some teams in Gbaji and Agbara to complement the permanent officers there. They are not permanent Agbara officers, but they are there for reinforcement. You will never see Seme checkpoints in Mowo or elsewhere on the roads. If you see them, expose them. The media should help us. Do your due diligence; you are the people who can help us build this country.

We have started synergy and collaboration among all the agencies—both the military, the police, and others. In fact, yesterday, I came in around 3:00 a. m to look at what is happening on the road. The checkpoints are reducing, but you see, they cannot be totally eliminated at once. We need your cooperation by educating the people, especially the unlawful ones. If you arrest some people today, others will come out tomorrow. We are trying our best, and I know with the kind of synergy we are building among all the relevant agencies, this issue of multiple checkpoints along the Seme border road will be reduced to the minimum level.

There are serious concern about the economic waste caused by seized assets by Customs, such as edible items and vehicles, which currently fill government warehouses while many Nigerians struggle to feed themselves. As the head Customs officer here, what is the NCS’s plan to quickly and transparently dispose of these valuable seized assets that litter the command?

I’ll tell you, the Comptroller General of Customs has zero tolerance for waste. Anyone who knows Adeniyi Bashir will tell you that he doesn’t like this kind of waste. On the issue of trucks—the means of conveyance for some of the seized flour and other items—we are working on it. Very soon, they will be disposed of. I can confidently tell you that by the time you visit next time, you will not see them here again. They will be disposed of in a proper way, not through the back door.

Just yesterday, I was discussing with the ACG Headquarters. During the engagements with security agencies, we learned about a road that is so bad even vehicles cannot pass through it—that’s on our side. They arrested a Dangote truck carrying cement a long time ago, and he gave us permission to use that cement. That cement had decayed over the years but we are using that cement to repair that road. That shows that we have zero tolerance for waste. It’s not business as usual. And the edibles? They are being disposed of in a strict way that leaves no room for waste.

We observed some new vehicles parked along the Seme corridor. Has the NCS reopened the border for the importation of used vehicles?

The vehicles you saw are not meant for Nigeria; they are on transit. Let me quickly share this: the first licensed bonded terminal was recently approved for Seme border by the Nigeria Customs Service. So, most of the goods coming in here now can easily go there pending examination and release. We have also created an examination bay for Nigerian goods, and the CGC is working very hard to get the scanners fixed.

Some of the cars you see are on transit, and they are on their way to the trailer park. You know, during the engagement, they talked about that trailer park, and we are working hard to get it decongested.

How soon should the public expect to see a significant reduction in the number of checkpoints along the Lagos–Abidjan corridor?

On the issue of the checkpoints, with your cooperation… you know, I was in the office of NAFDAC this morning. They have dismantled NAFDAC checkpoints along that road, but there was a notorious individual who went behind and still mounted that checkpoint until they arrested him and put out a disclaimer on him. But with your cooperation—the media—I will give you the authority and freedom to expose any agency that is not cooperating. The Nigeria Customs Service, under the direction of my CGC, has directed that customs checkpoints be reduced to the barest minimum. If we can comply, there is nothing stopping every other agency from complying. So please, expose us. You have the mandate. Do undercover agents. That will bring sanity to that road. Expose every agency that is not complying with the directives.

Within one month of your arrival, you achieved a significant surge in revenue generation, rising from N500 million in August to over N1 billion in September—the month you assumed office. What specific, new strategies did you implement to surpass the revenue generated by your predecessors?

There is no magic behind this. I told you, trade facilitation is my key word, and I’m coming with strong backing from the CGC. If you know my antecedents, I was formerly DC Revenue in Apapa. So, I have this experience. We know where to block leakages, but the major thing is trade facilitation.

We are reducing smuggling to the barest minimum. We have reduced the number of hours required for declarations. We consult virtually every day with the DCG Tariff and Trade. If you facilitate trade, people will want to bring their cargo here. If they come and you are able to facilitate the process immediately, you are turning things around. So that is my key word: facilitate trade, combined with my background as DC Revenue in Apapa.