The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have intensified discussions on a regional border-modernisation programme aimed at improving cross-border trade, strengthening Customs operations and advancing the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The discussions involved the Customs administrations of Nigeria, Benin Republic and Cameroon during a high-level working engagement at Afreximbank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, on October 12, 2026.
The engagement, led by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, followed a benchmarking mission to the Beitbridge Border Post in Zimbabwe and technical assessments of the Mfum–Ekok and Sèmè–Kraké border corridors.
According to a statement by the National Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Deputy Comptroller of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada, the meeting examined priority interventions required to establish an integrated regional border-modernisation programme.
The proposed initiative will combine digital infrastructure, harmonised Customs procedures, secure data exchange and institutional capacity development with investments in cargo scanners, weighbridges, access roads, reliable electricity, improved connectivity and modern border-processing facilities.
A major focus of the discussions was the proposed Customs Declaration Exchange System (CDES), designed to facilitate secure information exchange between Nigeria’s B’Odogwu platform, Benin’s Customs Webb and Cameroon’s CAMCIS.
The system is expected to enable export information generated in one country to support the advance preparation of import-manifest information in the receiving country, reducing duplication and improving the predictability of cross-border transactions.
However, the receiving Customs administration will retain responsibility for validating information, enforcing national requirements, conducting risk assessments and authorising cargo clearance.
The Service disclosed that although development and technical testing of the system had been undertaken, further configuration, integration, security checks and pilot acceptance would be required before deployment.
Assessments of the two priority border corridors also identified significant operational challenges requiring attention.
At the Mfum–Ekok corridor linking Nigeria and Cameroon, the assessment highlighted unreliable electricity, inadequate connectivity and information technology equipment, cybersecurity concerns, technical-support gaps, scanner commissioning issues and the need for coordinated single-stop border processing.
At Sèmè–Kraké, which connects Nigeria and Benin Republic, identified challenges included incomplete joint operating procedures, limited live data exchange, non-functional cargo-scanning and weighing facilities, traffic congestion, inconsistent operating hours and unclear responsibilities for maintaining shared infrastructure.
The Beitbridge benchmarking mission demonstrated the importance of treating border modernisation as an integrated system involving traffic management, pre-arrival processing, risk-based controls, transit monitoring, electronic payments, information technology command centres and effective maintenance and governance.
To move the initiative forward, Afreximbank proposed a two-stage project-preparation process beginning with independent engineering assessments and investment-cost studies at the two border posts.
This would be followed by the development of separate
