Land Border Vehicle Import Ban Costs Nigeria Billions Yearly – Operator

Operators in the maritime and border trade sector have alleged that the federal government’s restriction on vehicle importation through land borders has cost Nigeria billions of naira in lost revenue annually, while also encouraging smuggling activities across porous routes.

Speaking on the impact of the policy, the chairman and chief executive officer of Only God is Wise Nigeria Limited, a bonded terminal operator at the Seme border, Alhaji Adetona Mubashiru, urged the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, to push for a review of the nine-year-old restriction.

The Federal Government, through the Nigeria Customs Service, had in December 2016 announced a ban on the importation of new and used vehicles through Nigeria’s land borders, directing that all vehicle imports must come through the seaports effective January 1, 2017.

Mubashiru argued that the policy failed to achieve its objective of curbing smuggling and improving monitoring of imported vehicles, noting instead that it diverted legitimate trade to neighbouring countries and unapproved border routes.

According to him, the restriction forced importers to channel cargo through congested seaports while many others resorted to illegal bush paths, making enforcement more difficult for Customs operatives and depriving Nigeria of substantial customs revenue.

“Rather than stopping illegal imports, the ban pushed the trade to hundreds of unapproved porous routes. The Nigeria Customs Service faced enormous difficulties policing these illegal channels while the government continued to lose huge revenue annually,” he said.

He maintained that neighbouring countries benefitted significantly from the policy as many importers diverted cargoes to ports outside Nigeria, especially in the Benin Republic, where transit operations for vehicles destined for Nigeria continued.

The operator recalled that the former Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), had defended the policy as a control measure aimed at tackling fake documentation and irregular vehicle importation through land borders.

However, Mubashiru insisted that prior to the restriction, there was already a bilateral arrangement between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin for the monitoring and movement of transit vehicles through the Seme border under Customs supervision.

He explained that transit vehicles arriving from Cotonou port were usually escorted to the border and handed over to Nigerian Customs officers for clearance, adding that operational issues such as inadequate parking space had since been resolved.

“Today, the situation has changed. The Seme border now has facilities that can conveniently accommodate more than 1,000 vehicles, which makes the process more organised and transparent,” he stated.

Mubashiru further noted that the policy negatively affected thousands of Nigerians whose livelihoods depended on vehicle importation activities, including freight forwarders, drivers, mechanics, panel beaters, painters and other artisans operating around border communities.

He appealed to the current Customs leadership to advise the Federal Government on the need to reconsider the restriction in line with global trade facilitation practices and stakeholder demands for a more transparent and economically beneficial import process.

The operator expressed confidence that reopening land borders to vehicle importation would boost legitimate trade, generate employment opportunities and improve government revenue collection.