Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in collaboration with the Customs administrations of the Republic of Benin and the Republic of Cameroon, has intensified discussions with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on a regional border-modernisation programme aimed at strengthening trade facilitation, improving cross-border efficiency and advancing the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Discussions focused on combining improvements in digital infrastructure, harmonised customs procedures, secure data exchange and institutional capacity development with investments in cargo scanners, weighbridges, access roads, reliable electricity, connectivity, traffic management and modern border-processing facilities.

According to a statement yesterday by the NCS National Public Relations Officer, Dr Abdullahi Maiwada, the high-level working engagement, held at Afreximbank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, on October 12, 2026, followed a joint benchmarking mission to Beitbridge Border Post in Zimbabwe and subsequent technical assessments of the Mfum–Ekok and Sèmè–Kraké border corridors.

Maiwada noted that the engagement, led by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr Bashir Adeniyi, brought together representatives of the three customs administrations, Afreximbank and technical partners to review findings from the assessment missions, identify priority interventions and explore practical pathways towards an integrated regional border-modernisation programme.

The meeting also considered Afreximbank’s potential participation in the next Customs Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT) and progress towards regional and continental transit-guarantee arrangements.

According to the statement, a major component of the engagement was the Customs Declaration Exchange System (CDES), designed to facilitate secure information exchange among Nigeria’s B’Odogwu platform, Benin’s Customs Webb and Cameroon’s CAMCIS.

Built around a common data model, Maiwada noted that the system is intended to enable export information originating in one country to support the preparation of import-manifest information in the receiving country, thereby reducing duplication and improving the predictability of cross-border transactions.

Maiwada noted that the receiving Customs administration will remain responsible for validating the information, applying national requirements, conducting risk assessments, and authorising clearance.

Similarly, at Sèmè–Kraké, key challenges included incomplete joint procedures and live data exchange, non-functional cargo-scanning and weighing facilities, unreliable electricity, traffic congestion, inconsistent operating hours and unresolved responsibilities for maintaining shared infrastructure.

These findings, he stated, underscore the need to address immediate operational deficiencies alongside a properly assessed and costed long-term modernisation programme.

The Customs spokesperson said this is to promote more efficient cross-border procedures, improve cargo visibility, strengthen coordinated border management and support the development of an integrated African trading environment.