Nigeria and the Republic of Benin have stepped up efforts to streamline cross-border trade with plans to establish a Joint One-Stop Border Post at the Seme-Kraké frontier, a move expected to reduce delays, strengthen border security and facilitate the seamless movement of goods and people.
The initiative gained fresh momentum on Friday, September 11, 2026, as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Benin Customs Administration carried out a joint assessment of the infrastructure and operational readiness of the proposed facility.
The exercise, tagged “Joint Nigeria-Benin Republic One-Stop Border Post Assessment at Seme-Kraké,” was themed “Leveraging the Nigeria Customs Service Trade Modernisation Project to Advance Seamless Cross-Border Trade and Shared Prosperity.”
The NCS delegation was led by its Comptroller-General, Dr. Adewale Adeniyi, while the Benin Customs Administration was represented by its Director-General, Raouf Malehossou. Traditional rulers, community leaders and other stakeholders also participated in the exercise.
The visit featured the formal commissioning and joint validation of facilities, a press briefing, as well as a presentation and technical demonstration by the AfCFTA Technical Team.
Officials also conducted a structured inspection and border walk-through to assess operational readiness, review existing border processes and demonstrate the Border Modernisation solution designed to facilitate secure interoperability between the two countries.
The assessment focused on governance and institutional arrangements, ICT architecture and interoperability, surveillance and command-centre readiness, customs procedures, cybersecurity and data governance, infrastructure, equipment, service management and long-term sustainability.
Particular attention was given to the inspection and scanner lane, equipment condition and maintenance, cargo processing and space utilisation, as well as customs processing and service points.
Officials were also tasked with validating the functionality of critical infrastructure, including the generator, cargo scanner and weighbridge, while reviewing traffic flow and space segmentation to reduce fragmented clearance processes.
Other areas for validation included governance and handover documentation, maintenance arrangements, bilingual joint standard operating procedures, harmonised operating hours, ICT readiness and automated sharing of customs data between both countries.
Speaking at the ceremony, Adeniyi said the assessment was designed to determine the facility’s operational readiness while demonstrating the modern border-management solution being deployed to enable secure interoperability.
He described Seme-Kraké as one of West Africa’s busiest land borders and a critical gateway along the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor, which carries more than 70 per cent of the sub-region’s transit trade.
“Every hour lost at this gate is multiplied across thousands of consignments and tens of thousands of travellers, and is paid for in the price of goods in markets from Cotonou to Lagos,” Adeniyi said.
He added that the reverse was equally significant, noting that every hour saved at the border represented time and economic value saved across the region.
According to him, although Nigeria and Benin operate within the same border environment, their customs systems have yet to achieve full digital interoperability, particularly in the real-time exchange of declarations, manifests and risk profiles.
He disclosed that the NCS had commenced efforts to interconnect the two systems to provide real-time visibility of declarations and improve the tracking of transit consignments.
Adeniyi also drew attention to the importance of informal cross-border trade, particularly the role of women, who account for more than 70 per cent of informal traders in Africa. He noted that about 22 per cent of Benin’s informal exports are destined for Nigeria.
On his part, Malehossou commended Nigeria for spearheading the initiative, saying the Joint Border Post would improve risk management and facilitate early identification of potential threats.
He stressed, however, that achieving an efficient border would require more than physical infrastructure, pointing to the need for stronger institutional coordination, digital interoperability, clearly defined responsibilities and investment in personnel.
“The bridge we see today provides a vital physical link between Abidjan and Lagos and beyond. Our historic responsibility now is to ensure that the movement of people and goods across this corridor is as efficient and seamless as the infrastructure allows,” he said.
Malehossou urged the technical teams from both countries to move beyond assessment and commence implementation.
“Let us therefore get to work,” he said.
The joint assessment is part of wider efforts by Nigeria and Benin to harmonise border procedures, remove trade barriers and improve the efficiency of legitimate commerce along the Nigeria-Benin frontier and the wider Abidjan-Lagos Corridor.
