Nigeria, Benin Customs Reset Seme-Krake Operations with Digital Integration

 

…by Kikelomo Ogundele

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Benin Customs have unveiled plans to transform the Sèmè–Kraké Joint Border Post into a technology-enabled regional model for seamless trade and coordinated border management.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Friday, September 11, 2026, at the launch of the Joint Nigeria-Benin Republic One Stop Border Post.

Adeniyi said the Sèmè–Kraké facility must be approached as a strategic border modernisation programme rather than a collection of isolated infrastructure repairs.

“What we seek to achieve here is that Sèmè–Kraké be treated as a strategic border modernisation programme, and not as a series of isolated repairs,” he said.

According to him, the objective is to create a model joint border post built around Customs interconnectivity, joint risk management, coordinated enforcement, secure infrastructure, harmonised procedures and accountable joint governance.

He said the success of the initiative would provide a template for the modernisation of other border crossings across the region.

Adeniyi noted that the Sèmè–Kraké facility already has key physical infrastructure, including lanes, parking areas, offices, a weighbridge and scanner housing. However, he said the two Customs administrations are yet to operate through a fully integrated system.

“Without interconnectivity, this is not a joint border post. It is two border posts sharing a car park,” Adeniyi said.

He explained that the NCS is working with Benin Customs to establish a common data exchange arrangement that would allow declarations lodged on one side of the border to be accessed by the other in real time.

The system, he said, would also support the tracking of transit cargo from origin to destination and ensure that risk profiles and enforcement alerts generated by one Customs administration are promptly transmitted to its counterpart.

Adeniyi said the modernisation programme would further involve restoring scanning capabilities, strengthening access control, surveillance and lighting, and establishing a permanent Nigeria-Benin enforcement and intelligence mechanism.

He also called for harmonised bilingual standard operating procedures covering cargo, passengers, inspection, transit and incident escalation.

The Comptroller-General stressed the need for joint risk management and a properly empowered joint management structure to oversee shared infrastructure at the border.

Support for Women Traders

As part of the initiative, Adeniyi announced the launch of a dedicated facility to address the needs of women traders operating along the corridor.

He said the facility would provide simplified procedures for small consignments, information in languages commonly spoken by traders, accessible points of contact and a channel for reporting cases of poor treatment.

The initiative, he explained, is intended to encourage more women traders to enter the formal trading system while reducing harassment, extortion and delays at the border.

Adeniyi said the measure forms part of the broader effort to make the Sèmè–Kraké crossing more efficient, transparent and responsive to legitimate traders.

Benin Customs Pledges Support

The Directeur Général of Benin Customs, Col. Raouf Malehhossou Aboudou, expressed support for the NCS initiative, describing the recalibration of joint operations at the Sèmè–Kraké border as critical to improving trans-border trade.

Aboudou commended Adeniyi for what he described as pragmatism and purposefulness in seeking to reinvent operational systems and improve cross-border trade.

He assured that the Benin Customs administration would vigorously support the initiative, adding that its officers and personnel were ready to work with their Nigerian counterparts to achieve the objectives of the joint effort.

His position underscores the importance of stronger bilateral Customs cooperation at the Sèmè–Kraké corridor, where developments on either side of the border have direct implications for trade facilitation and enforcement.

Seme Command Commits to Seamless Trade

The Seme Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Abdullahi Shuaibu Kaila, also pledged the command’s support for efforts to improve seamless cross-border trade between Nigeria and Benin Republic.

In his welcome address, Kaila commended the Comptroller-General and his Benin counterpart for their commitment to taking cross-border trade along the Sèmè–Kraké corridor to a new level of efficiency and vitality.

He said the commitment of both Customs administrations was critical to improving operations at the strategic border crossing, which plays an important role in Nigeria’s trade relationship with Benin Republic and the wider West African market.

Under the renewed operational framework, the Seme Command will be expected to facilitate legitimate trade while maintaining border security, protecting government revenue and enforcing applicable restrictions.

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