Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), has said that no item can be imported or exported through the nation’s land borders.
Ali disclosed this during a joint news conference with his counterpart from the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mohammed Babandede, in Abuja on Monday.
According to him, goods can only enter the country through the air and seaports, where they can undergo thorough scanning and certified fit for consumption before allowed into Nigerian markets.
“We hope that by the time we get to the end of this exercise, we would have agreed with our neighbours on the type of goods that should enter and exit our country. For now, all goods, whether illicit or non-illicit, are banned from going and coming into Nigeria through the land borders,” he said.
Recall that the joint border security exercise, codenamed “Exercise Swift Response”, commenced on August 20 with the aim of ensuring better security of the country’s territorial integrity, particularly the land and maritime borders against trans-border security concerns.
The exercise is being coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in the four zones of North-West, North-Central, South-West and South-South geopolitical zones.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we included all goods because such goods can equally come through our seaports. For that reason, we have deemed it necessary for now that importers of such goods should go through our controlled borders where we have scanners to verify the kind of goods and how healthy they are to our people,” he further said.
He said that despite the rights for movement of persons provided by the enabling ECOWAS protocols, there must be primacy of security over such rights.
