Uche Cecil Izuora
The Customs Area Controller in charge of Seme Area Command, Comptroller Abdullahi Kaila, has commenced series of coordination visits to key security outfits along the Lagos–Abidjan business corridor.
The engagements, held on Wednesday, 1 April 2026, reflect a deliberate push to strengthen border management, enhance trade facilitation, and improve security at one of Nigeria’s most active frontier zones.
Kaila began his tour at the 243 Recce Battalion Ibereko Barracks in Badagry, where he outlined the objective of the visit: to foster greater understanding, alignment, and cooperation with other security formations responsible for the Seme corridor. He described the border as a critical gateway for trade, services, and movement of people between Nigeria and neighbouring countries, noting that the high volume of cross‑border activities makes it a sensitive and strategic economic corridor.
“Seme border is known to be a critical gateway for trade and services between Nigeria and other countries. If you look at the volume of trade taking place here, movement of people and cross‑border activities, one can easily say Seme is a sensitive and critical strategic economic corridor and that is why we need continuous collaboration, intelligence sharing and mutual support,” Kaila said.
The Customs Area Controller stressed that closer coordination among security agencies is essential to economic stability and the welfare of communities living in the border area.
He urged his counterparts to deepen joint operations, information sharing, and mutual support in order to curb smuggling, revenue fraud, and other threats to legitimate trade and national security.
The Commanding Officer of the 243 Recce Battalion, Lt. Colonel Ambrose Ikoro, while responding, commended the Nigeria Customs Service for its vital role in securing the border and facilitating lawful commerce. He reaffirmed the Army’s commitment to maintaining and improving the existing level of cooperation, adding that the Chief of Army Staff has directed units operating in border areas to support all relevant security agencies, including Customs, as part of their joint mandate.
Kaila also visited the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base in Badagry, the 15 Field Engineer Regiment of the Nigerian Army at Topo, and the NAFDAC office at Seme. These stops were aimed at reviewing operational linkages, addressing emerging challenges, and exploring ways to streamline legitimate trade while tightening controls on illicit activities.
The visit marks the formal start of Kaila’s leadership in Seme and underscores a broader strategy to position the corridor as a more secure, efficient, and integrated trade route. By building stronger ties with other security formations, the Seme Area Command seeks to reduce trade barriers, enhance compliance, and create a safer environment for cross‑border commerce between Nigeria and its neighbours.