The Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), has said that there is need for a total closure of the Cotonou Border. The border separates Nigeria and Benin Republic
He made the suggestion at the 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), stressing that the NCS, was facing the challenge of smugglers and the impact their activities are having, on both the economy and the growth of local industries
In his opinion, President, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agent, Olayiwola Shittu, pointed out that shutting the border will embolden smugglers to engage in desperate measures to carry goods to Nigeria.
“There has never been any known case of smuggling of arms and ammunition through the border but arms and ammunition have been brought in through the sea ports. That makes the border less risky than the sea ports”
“The concentration should rather be on the ports than on the border because it appears smugglers who use the ports are more daring than those who come through the borders”
He noted that other borders were equally porous and prone to smuggling adding that shutting all borders just to keep smugglers out was not a good strategy.
Mr Shittu urged the Federal Government to lift the ban on vehicle importation across land borders emphasizing that the Government could increase the penalty for smuggling
It would be recalled that during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003, the border gates were shut in order to curb banditry and smuggling
Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, have earlier expressed the same views where he stated that the situation has rubbished the efforts of this present administration in diversifying the economy through agriculture.
“If that border will be a threat to the survival of Nigeria, we may decide to take a very drastic action”