The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced the dissolution of its Joint Border Patrol Team (JBPT).
BusinessDay reports that Abdullahi Maiwada, the national public relations officer of the service, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja.
Maiwada said that the move was made after due consultation with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
He said that it was also part of its efforts to strengthen border management and reinvigorate its 2025 enforcement strategy.
“NCS has reinvigorated its 2025 Enforcement Strategy. This strategy is aimed at removing bottlenecks associated with trade, strengthening border security, combating smuggling, and facilitating legitimate trade,” he said.
According to Maiwada, the move will not compromise border security or trade facilitation, but represent a significant step towards modernising customs operations, improving trade compliance, and strengthening national security.
He said that the NCS Comptroller-General (C-G), Adewale Adeniyi, had approved the reduction of customs checkpoints across the country, aimed at streamlining its operations and to ease the movement of goods and persons.
The spokesman quoted the C-G saying that the service would henceforth, rely on solid intelligence to enhance its operations.
The C-G said, “Moving forward, customs operations will rely more on actionable intelligence and strategic risk management frameworks to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.”
