ABUJA — The Nigeria Customs Service and Cameroon Customs have carried out a joint assessment of the Ekok-Mfum One-Stop Border Post to reduce trade barriers and strengthen border security.

The exercise held on Tuesday, 8 September 2026 in Mfum, Cross River State. It was themed “Leveraging the Nigeria Customs Service Trade Modernisation Project to Advance Seamless Cross-Border Trade and Shared Prosperity.” Officials, security agencies, development partners and community leaders from both countries attended.

‎The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, said the aim is to improve an existing system so it can work better for the region and Africa. He said both countries recently visited the Beitbridge border between South Africa and Zimbabwe to study best practices.

He added that technical teams are working on a joint agreement expected to be signed at the C-PACT conference. Adeniyi thanked the African Development Bank, ECOWAS, ECCAS, Afreximbank and the AfCFTA Secretariat for support.

The Director General of Cameroon Customs, Fongod Nuvaga, said the assessment is the first step toward unified border operations. He called for real-time data sharing and joint risk management so goods and travellers are processed once.

The event ended with the launch of the Mfum-Ekok Border Modernisation Initiative to digitise customs work, improve infrastructure and boost trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.