By Amby AGBAJA, Lagos
The Nigerian Customs Service has shut down the Benin Republic’s Transit Park at the seme border due to alleged extortion of Nigerian importers by the Benin Republic officials and loss of revenue to the Nigerian government on goods coming into Africa’s largest economy through the Seme border.
The enforcement on the closure was the directive of the Customs Area Controller, Compt. Muhammed Uba.
Reacting on the development, the Assistant Comptroller General of Customs, Aminu Dahiru, stated ,” The controversial Atlas Park was shut because it’s usage by the officials of Benin Republic to process Nigeria -bound cargo was illegal as it violated international best practices. ”
He Continued, ” The Atlas Park is against international trade on transit because when goods are being transported from one country to another, it is supposed to be received by Customs (in Nigeria) but in Benin, we discover that it will come to another place before it will be trans – loaded into another truck and come to Nigeria. ”
Dahiru asserted that, ” Unfortunately ,at our side we don’t have enough space like the kind of park similar to their own where transit goods will now park before officers perform customs procedures on each before final movement to Nigeria or hinter land. ”
Dahiru posited that, ” The Park is being worked on because there is a very big land belonging to government and work is going on there. Apart from that, we are also in talks with the Customs administration as well as transporters in Benin to look at how we can solve this problem. Though some people may see the procedure as a kind of loss to them in their businesses, but we are trying to persuade each and every stakeholder to make sacrifices so that we can decongest this place.”
