The Joint Border Patrol Team (JBPT) set up by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has been disbanded.
The spokesperson of the NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, on Tuesday, said the decision was sequel to consultation with the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
It would be recalled that the House of Representatives had, on December 11, mandated its Committees on Customs and Excise, Defence, to probe the the NCS’s activities across the nation’s borders following allegations of aiding smuggling and brutality against Nigerians against the organization.
The committees were also ordered to examine the role of military personnel attached to Customs patrols in order to ensure their operations comply with legal frameworks and human rights standards.
The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Rep. Sesi Whingan who alleged that rather than prevent smuggling, recent reports showed that Customs’ personnel across the borders were aiding and abetting smuggling.
But the Customs spokesman said the dissolution of the joint border patrol team was part of the NCS’ efforts to strengthen border management and reinvigorate its 2025 enforcement strategy.
The JBPT, coordinated by the ONSA, evolved from an ex-swift response team to become a tripartite operation comprising Benin Republic, Niger Republic and Nigeria.
The patrol team was responsible for combating smuggling, irregular migration, and other transnational organised crimes along the nations’ borders, among others.
Maiwada said the team’s dissolution would not added border security or trade facilitation, but an alignment towards modernising Customs’ operations, improving trade compliance and strengthening national security.
“This strategy is aimed at removing bottlenecks associated with trade, strengthening border security, combating smuggling, and facilitating legitimate trade,” he said.
Maiwada also said the NCS Comptroller-General, Adewale Adeniyi, has approved the cut down of Customs checkpoints across the country to streamline its operations and to ease movement of goods and persons.
He said Adeniyi said the NCS would shift reliance to intelligence.
“Moving forward, customs operations will rely more on actionable intelligence and strategic risk management frameworks to enhance efficiency and effectiveness,” the statement quoted the CG as saying.
