The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), alongside the customs administrations of Benin and Cameroon, has taken a major step towards modernising regional border operations following a high-level benchmarking mission to the Beitbridge Border Post between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The five-day mission, organised with the support of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework, focused on strengthening coordinated border management, facilitating trade and accelerating regional economic integration.
Leading the Nigerian delegation, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, joined the Director-General of Cameroon Customs, Fongod Nuvaga; Director-General of Benin Customs, Colonel Raouf Malèhossou Aboudou; Acting Commissioner of Customs and Excise at the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), Lonto Ndlovu; and Chairman of Bergmans Security Consultant and Supplies Limited, Alhaji Saleh Ahmadu, to study the successful border management model at Beitbridge.
Speaking during the adoption of the Joint Communiqué on Monday, July 27, 2026, Adeniyi described the visit as a significant opportunity for African customs administrations to move beyond policy discussions and embrace practical reforms capable of transforming border operations across the continent.
He said the experiences at the Beitbridge and Chirundu Border Posts in Zimbabwe demonstrated that effective border modernisation depends not only on infrastructure but also on institutional coordination, digital integration, accountability and skilled personnel.
According to him, the delegation was leaving Zimbabwe with renewed determination to implement practical solutions that would improve trade facilitation, enhance border security and stimulate economic growth across the region.
“Beitbridge has demonstrated that border modernisation is not merely about infrastructure development. The most important lesson for us is that sustainable reform depends on coordinated institutions, clear accountability, digital interoperability and professional human capital. We are leaving here with a renewed commitment to translate these lessons into practical solutions that will strengthen trade facilitation, security and economic growth across our region,” Adeniyi said.
During the mission, participants attended technical sessions and executive briefings on the Beitbridge Modernisation and Concession Model, covering financing mechanisms, operational systems, revenue management and coordinated border governance.
The delegation also toured freight terminals, cargo processing centres, scanning facilities, traffic management systems and integrated information technology infrastructure, gaining firsthand knowledge of how technology and inter-agency collaboration have transformed one of Africa’s busiest border crossings into a model of trade efficiency.
The Joint Communiqué issued at the end of the mission identified the Sèmè-Kraké corridor linking Nigeria and Benin Republic and the Mfum-Ekok corridor connecting Nigeria and Cameroon as priority routes for implementing coordinated border management and One-Stop Border Post arrangements.
Director-General of Cameroon Customs, Fongod Nuvaga, stressed that stronger collaboration among customs administrations was essential to eliminating trade bottlenecks while maintaining effective border security.
He noted that enhanced regional cooperation would enable African countries to maximise the benefits of the AfCFTA and accelerate continental economic integration.
Similarly, Director-General of Benin Customs, Colonel Raouf Malèhossou Aboudou, said the Beitbridge experience offered practical lessons for improving border efficiency across West Africa.
He emphasised that harmonised customs procedures, coordinated risk management and stronger institutional partnerships would be vital to ensuring seamless movement of goods along regional trade corridors while improving revenue assurance.
Also speaking, Afreximbank’s Director for Trade Facilitation and Investment Promotion, Dr Gainmore Zanamwe, said the benchmarking exercise formed part of the bank’s broader commitment to supporting trade-enabling infrastructure and institutional reforms across Africa.
According to him, the exercise was designed not only to showcase modern infrastructure but also to expose participating countries to governance models, operational systems and accountability mechanisms that drive successful border operations.
He maintained that technology, coordination, measurable service standards and strong institutional frameworks remain the key ingredients for achieving efficient border management across Africa.
The mission concluded with the signing of a Joint Communiqué committing Nigeria, Benin and Cameroon to establish a Trilateral Strategic Steering Committee to oversee the implementation of the recommendations from the benchmarking exercise.
The three customs administrations also pledged to harmonise border procedures, strengthen digital interoperability, coordinate risk management systems and invest in continuous capacity building for customs personnel as part of efforts to improve trade facilitation and deepen regional integration under the AfCFTA.
