Apapa Customs Boosts Emergency Preparedness With Intensive First Aid Training for Officers
Kathy Kyari
The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has launched a comprehensive basic first aid training for its officers and men, an initiative the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba, described as a crucial investment in operational safety and emergency preparedness.
Declaring the programme open at the Command headquarters, Oshoba said the training aligns with the priority placed on staff welfare by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi. He noted that first aid competence is no longer optional for personnel who operate in high-risk environments.
He stressed that first aid knowledge is a universal life skill every adult should possess, particularly Customs operatives who often respond to incidents in remote or hazardous locations. “The person standing next to you could be your emergency nurse or paramedic before a doctor is reached,” he said.
Oshoba warned that the absence of basic emergency response capability could lead to preventable fatalities. He explained that timely interventions such as CPR, bleeding control, choking relief and stroke recognition can determine whether a victim survives, recovers fully or suffers long-term complications.
He added that first aid plays a vital role in reducing injury severity, controlling bleeding, relieving pain and stabilising victims at risk of losing consciousness. While acknowledging that some officers already had prior exposure to first aid, he urged them to consider the programme a critical refresher. First-timers, he said, must actively participate in both theoretical and practical sessions, as hands-on experience is essential for mastering emergency response techniques.
Expressing confidence in the impact of the programme, Oshoba described the training as “time well spent” for the Command and the Service at large.
Leading the practical session, the Team Lead and Zonal Medical Officer for Zone B, Comptroller A.S. Aku, guided officers through demonstrations on CPR and techniques for reviving choking victims.
“The truth is that when there is an emergency, you are a first responder. What you do in the first few minutes before help comes is very crucial. We are here to practice the basic skills that could save lives,” he told participants.
“At the end of the exercise, we should understand the four goals of first aid and identify the different types of first aid, and when to administer them. We should also know about those techniques that we need. We have been encountering a lot of conditions whereby our bodies, our families, our friends require some form of assistance from us as a first responder. But most times, we panic,” he added.
The training covered CPR, bleeding control, managing gunshot incidents, handling bone and joint injuries, and other emergency procedures.
A major highlight of the event was the presentation of the Customs Medical Corps First Aid Manual by the Zonal Medical Officer to Comptroller Oshoba.
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