Nigeria Customs Service, WASP Collaborate for Enhanced Trade Security

Kathy Kyari

In order to effectively facilitate trade and maintain border security, the Nigeria Customs Service has partnered with the West Africa Security Project (WASP) to train its personnel on security awareness.

Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC) Bashir Adewale Adeniyi addressed the West Africa Security Project delegates during a meeting on Tuesday at the Customs Corporate Headquarters in Abuja. He described the project as a tool that will help Service officers stop drug trafficking and smuggling.

The CGC, who backed the partnership between WASP and the Nigeria Customs Service, also hailed the program as an excellent opportunity for officers to carry out security-related tasks.

He listed a few advantages of the program, including cargo profiling, management of small arms and light weapons, global shield programs that deal with chemicals and radioactive elements, and resource sharing for synergy with stakeholders.

"there is an existing project managed by the world bank that looks at the Lagos-Abidjan corridor whose aim is to promote trade facilition. Bringing in this new project that looks at the security aspect will boost our performances and potent a lot of opportunities for us."

He added "We will be able to account for 60% of the GDP if we are able to cooperate effectively. This project requires the cooperation and collaboration of all the Customs administrations involved".

The CGC added that brainstorming and idea sharing amongst field officers is another aspect of the program. In order to reduce smuggling and trafficking activities, he claims that knowing the confluence of smuggling routes will be helpful to officers.

Terry Wall, the project manager for the West Africa Security Project (WASP), listed some of the program's advantages, such as the ability to identify high-risk cargo, provide training for the national Customs Enforcement Network (nCEN), provide refresher training on how to use the CEN, collaborate with other organizations to deliver GEOSPATIAL intelligence, and conduct a high-level end-of-project evaluation with the donor.