The Nigeria Customs Service Seme Area Command has recorded a major revenue milestone, generating N3.48 billion in less than one month, as improved trade facilitation and rising agro-exports boost activities along the Seme–Krake corridor.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC), Wale Adenuga, disclosed that the Command generated N3,480,970,924.67 in February 2026, with the month still ongoing. This represents a significant leap from the N743,698,652.16 recorded in February 2025, reflecting a dramatic improvement in revenue performance.
Adenuga made the disclosure during an interactive stakeholders’ engagement meeting with cross-border traders, farmers and other sector players, organised by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission, the ECOWAS Agricultural Trade Programme, and GIZ International. The event, held in Badagry on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, was themed “Empowering Cross-Border Traders through Trade Information Desk for Agricultural Traders.”
Representing the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, Comptroller Adenuga attributed the revenue surge to enhanced trade facilitation measures and growing confidence among traders operating along the corridor.
“For this February that has not yet ended, we have already generated N3.48 billion as against N743 million recorded in February 2025. This clearly shows that the flow of trade is getting better and people are building greater confidence in the Seme–Krake corridor,” he said.
The CAC assured stakeholders that the significant reduction in checkpoints along the Seme–Gbaji axis was achieved through sustained collaboration with sister security agencies. He clarified that Agbara and Gbaji remain the only officially approved and sanctioned Customs checkpoints along the Lagos–Abidjan corridor.
According to him, crime rates along the axis have also declined due to monthly joint border security meetings involving all agencies operating at the border post. These engagements, he noted, have improved intelligence sharing, strengthened inter-agency cooperation and enhanced rapid responses to security challenges, thereby creating a safer and more enabling environment for cross-border trade.
While revenue generation and trade facilitation remain core priorities, Adenuga emphasized that the Command remains resolute in combating smuggling and other illicit activities. He cited recent enforcement successes, including the interception of a Toyota Highlander vehicle conveying 22 packages of cocaine with an estimated street value exceeding N1 billion, following credible intelligence provided by the Customs headquarters.
He also revealed that within February 2026 alone, the Command seized 1,000 bags of 50kg parboiled rice, reaffirming its determination to protect Nigeria’s economic borders and suppress illegal trade.
Comptroller Adenuga reiterated the commitment of officers and men of the Seme Area Command to sustained collaboration with traders, farmers, stakeholders, sister security agencies and regional partners to further strengthen trade facilitation and security along the strategic Lagos–Abidjan corridor.
The development underscores the growing impact of coordinated border management and stakeholder engagement in boosting legitimate trade while tightening enforcement against criminal activities at Nigeria’s western border.
