The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Area Command, has commenced the full operation of a simplified digital system for declaring and clearing passengers’ baggage at the Seme border.

The initiative, according to the Command, is aimed at reducing clearance time, improving transparency, facilitating legitimate cross-border movement and strengthening revenue collection through technology-driven processes.

Under the new system, passengers can initiate baggage declarations using their mobile devices or complete the process at designated digital kiosks within the Command.

The system uses standardised and pre-programmed assessment tables to determine applicable duties on declared personal goods, automatically calculate payments and generate receipts once transactions are completed.

The Customs authorities said the digital process has significantly reduced manual procedures and discretionary assessments while providing passengers with a more predictable and transparent clearance process.

Since the commencement of the deployment, the Command said it has recorded an average baggage clearance turnaround time of less than five minutes.

It also disclosed that the system generated ₦10.34 million in revenue from passenger baggage declarations within the first few days of implementation.

According to the Command, the revenue, amounting to ₦10,340,260.02, was collected through the automated system and represents duties payable into the Federation Account.

While introducing the digital system to facilitate legitimate travel and trade, the Command said enforcement operations would remain in place to prevent abuse of the process.

It explained that enhanced risk management and intelligence-led controls were being deployed to detect attempts to conceal commercial quantities of restricted or prohibited goods as passenger baggage.

The Customs Area Controller, Seme Area Command, Comptroller Abdullahi Kaila, said the initiative aligns with the commitment of the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, PhD, to modernise customs operations through technology and innovation.

Kaila urged passengers, cross-border traders and other stakeholders to take advantage of the simplified declaration system and comply with applicable customs regulations.

He assured travellers and legitimate businesses operating through the Seme border corridor of continued facilitation, while stressing that measures would remain in place to safeguard national security, protect the economy and curb smuggling.

The Command also pledged to continue working with relevant stakeholders and sister government agencies at the Seme border to ensure the smooth movement of legitimate passengers and goods.

John Tunde Ayagbalo
Superintendent of Customs
Public Relations Officer
Seme Area Command
For: The Customs Area Controller
30 September 2026

 

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