By Our Reporter
In spite of efforts by Compt. Ben Nkem Oramalugo, PH.D, and Chairman, security agencies Committee, Seme Jurisdiction, to sanitize the Seme-Badagry axis from the activities of over-zealous security agencies personnel, appears determined to sabotage his efforts.
While the Customs personnel have complied to the new rules of not making things difficult for the cross-border traders but acting on information to carry out routine thorough checks along the Lagos -Seme road, to avoid playing into the hands of the no nonsense Area Controller , the reverse is the case in the Nigerian police Force , NPF and the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, personnel who had set up more checkpoints along the international route to extort money from Passengers in the guise of looking for immigrants without valid International Passport.
The activities of the NIS, personnel along the around the Owode Apa axis appears to be worrisome. The NIS personnel who engage the’’ Kelebes’’ described in Customs circles as the foot soldiers who have the mandate to stop any vehicle heading to the border Community have become an embarrassment. Instead of concentrating on their primary responsibility which is basically to control the movement of people across the Seme/Krake joint border, between and Republic of Benin and other border Communities within the Seme Jurisdictions would stop taxis to carry out routine search of the booth and passengers’ bags to ascertain their contents.
The message was very clear that the NIS, personnel at the various checkpoints along the Lagos-Seme/ Krake joint border which ought to have limited their operations to border surveillance and patrol, enforcing relevant laws and regulations and performing other paramilitary duties as related to border security and immigration control appears to have failed in the duties.
On July 30, 2025, there was an incident around the NIS, Gbaji checkpoint, almost opposite the Owode/Apa road, a Taxi Cab, occupied by six male Passengers from Badagry heading to Seme was said to have been flagged down one ‘’Kelebe’’ at the instance of one junior Immigration officer for normal routine checks. The NIS official, who appears not have to have been well- trained for the immigration job had posed such questions: You from which state, where are you going and what are you going to do across the border. The NIS official had demanded for the International of three of the Passengers, which he took to their makeshift office to liaise with his superior officer on the next line of action to follow.
T he Nigerian Passengers heading toCo tonou, Capital of the neighbouring Republic of Benin had had expected to be released after interrogation but were kept in the office for too long forcing the drive to find his way to the office to ascertain what is happening.
The NIS personnel, may have seen it as an opportunity to intimidate the cross-border travellers to submission to their demands as the officer had threatened to drop them from the Taxi Cab and return them back to Nigeria despite being told that they are resident in the West African country.
Given that their discussion or Negotiation at their makeshift office could not have achieved any result may have encouraged the officer to order the driver for thorough searching of the Passengers bags. The NIS officer was said to have been infuriated when he found Nigeria local food, Garri in one of the Passengers’ bags and ordered for their bags to be droped and transferred to a waiting Sienna believed to be owned by the NIS officer overseeing NIS Gbaji checkpoint. The ‘’Kelebes’’, had carried out the instruction as directed. The NIS Gbaji checkpoint boss, who wore a polo to work was said to have left his makeshift office to the open space used by the junior officers to attend to the Passengers who have some unresolved issues to settle before continuing their journey.
The Badagry based Cab Driver who could not take it had intervened to save the situation from degenerating which may further delay other Passengers. An eyewitness account had confirmed that the driver’s intervention may changed the tone negotiation between the NIS, personnel and the affected cross-border travellers.
The NIS officials were said to have demanded for N4,000.00 each from the three Passengers whose Passports were collected for further verification. The situation. One of the Passengers was said to have flared up that he cannot afford the N4000.00 demanded by the NIS personnel as it is all the only amount, he has in pocket which covers his transport fare back to Lagos, Nigeria. The plea of the driver, who one of the NIS, officers, had accused of ‘’knowing the right thing but failed to do it while approaching the NIS Checkpoint’’, may have facilitated their discussion as they were said to have settled for N2,000.000 each to regain their freedom. The driver was said to have settled the bill for the cross- border passengers and the return of their bags to vehicle.
While the Cotonou bound Passengers from Nigeria were said to have been given the free passage, the NIS, in the guise of carrying out their official duties, were said to have stopped another vehicle heading to Nigeria from the Seme/Krake joint border.
The driver of the Cab carrying the Passengers from the Seme/Krake axis who had run into the waiting hands of the NIS officers at the Gbaji checkpoint was said to have been stopped and the occupants ordered out for interrogation.
An argument may have ensued between one of the NIS personnel at the Gbaji checkpoint that he had thrown decency to the winds and allegedly ‘’slapped one of the female passengers’’. The intervention of other officers may have saved the fracas. A bystander had described the activities of the NIS personnel at the Gbaji checkpoint as ‘’Laughable’’.
Unconfirmed report said the embarrassing behaviour of the NIS personnel at the Gbaji checkpoint could have been witnessed by the advance team of the Customs Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, Barshir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, to Cotonou on July 30, 2025, comprising of Assistant Comptroller General, ACG, Dera Nnadi, and other senior officers, for a meeting on Thursday, July 31, 2025, could have witnessed the incident both not for the usual Lagos traffic on the Lagos roads.
The NIS personnel at the Gbaji checkpoints may have had the back of their mind that their unruly behaviour would not filter out to the ear of their Comptroller at the Seme/Krake border.
Unknown to them there was a Nigerian Journalist who was also in the Seme/Krake bound vehicle earlier stopped who took note of their behaviour at the checkpoint.
the Lagos based Journalist, may have taken advantage of his visit to Seme to report the incident to Compt. Oramal ugo, who , incidentally is Chairman of the Security Agencies Committee at the border Community. The Customs Comptroller, described as a man of action at the insecurity circles at the Seme/Krake because of his decisive anti-smuggling war, which had caught the VIP, smugglers unaware as the could no longer penetrate the rank of officers was said to have reached out his NIS Counterpart to call his men at the Gbaji checkpoint to order.
The worry of may cross-border passengers was that the Federal Operations Unit, FOU, and the Seme Command Patrol Team officers, particular, those at the dismantled MTN, checkpoint, who use to a major problem long the Lagos-Seme Road have changed for good, NIS personnel have become the problem on the road.
Compt. Oramalugo’s Patrol Team officers those at the Gbaji check including those at the Ohunbo and other outstations may not have allowed the excesses of the NIS and security agencies personnel to affect their operations as they were said to have continued to intercept and seize VIP trucks load foreign Agricultural par boiled rice.
between May 14, 2025 and July 14, 2025, had made history again. As at July, 30, 2025, the Command’s intercepted and seized trucks load of foreign rice from the Asian country of India, allegedly shipped to the port of Benin, Cotonou, but smuggled to Nigeria were discharged and deposited at the Command Warehouse at the border amidst tight security.
The Seme Command Area Controller, who may officers believes is a workaholic as he combines both his core Customs operations of Trade Facilitation, revenue generation andante-smuggling, and using his educational background as a PhiD, holder, from the University of Lagos and the North American country of the United States, prestigious Havard University obtained Certificate, to have sleepless nights to write a book that will help the younger generation Customs officers.
O He was said authored the World-class book: ’’ Customs Administration in Nigeria’’, described as an cyclopedia of the Service, which should be should be ‘’a must read for all officers, both junior and senior, at the Customs Headquarters, Zonal and Command levels’’, an officer had remarked .
