CAIRO, Egypt – The Nigeria Customs Service says it has intensified talks with Afreximbank on modernising borders to boost trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

‎The talks, held at Afreximbank headquarters in Cairo on Oct. 12, 2026, involved customs officials from Nigeria, Benin and Cameroon.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, led the Nigerian delegation.

The meeting followed a joint assessment mission to Beitbridge Border Post in Zimbabwe and technical checks at Mfum-Ekok and Seme-Krake border corridors.

Officials discussed upgrading digital systems, harmonising customs procedures, secure data exchange and training, as well as investing in scanners, weighbridges, access roads, electricity and modern border facilities.

‎They also discussed a Customs Declaration Exchange System designed to link Nigeria’s B’Odogwu platform with Benin’s Customs Webb and Cameroon’s CAMCIS. The system would allow export data from one country to help prepare import information in another, but officials said more work is needed before deployment.

‎The assessments found gaps including unreliable power, poor connectivity, non-functional scanners and traffic congestion at the two corridors

‎Afreximbank proposed a two-stage plan starting with engineering assessments and cost studies at the two border posts, followed by bankable project packages for the Nigeria-Benin and Nigeria-Cameroon corridors.

‎No final cost or financing deal has been reached, but officials agreed on site inspections, focal points and a one-, three- and six-month action plan.

‎Spokesman Abdullahi Maiwada said Customs remains committed to strengthening regional cooperation and facilitating legitimate trade under AfCFTA.