By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has pledged to continue to pursue strategic automation initiatives in order to deepen and consolidate her role in trade facilitation, revenue generation and national development.

The National Public Relations Officer (NPRO), Assistant Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada stated this, Monday, while

announcing, on behalf of the Customs Comptroller-General,

Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, the

successful commencement of the pilot phase for processing Form M through the B’Odogwu (Unified Customs Management System) in all Commands of the Service.

“This initiative represents another bold step in the Service’s technology-driven reforms to modernise trade procedures and enhance operational efficiency”, the NPRO stated.

He explained that following the Service’s approval to integrate the Form M process into the B’Odogwu Trade Portal, preparatory activities commenced across three designated Customs Commands: Port and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML), Tin Can Island Port, and Apapa Area Command.

“These sites were selected to drive the pilot phase in a controlled and strategic environment, allowing for close monitoring, stakeholder engagement, and performance assessment.”

“During this period, a total of five hundred and forty-four (544) Form M entries were processed. Of these, 283 were successfully registered, 10 were validated, and 26 were stored for further action. Additionally, 41 entries were submitted, 120 were returned for corrections, 11 were queried, 14 had their PAARs locked, and 39 were recommended for approval.”

These figures, he said, reflect the robust testing and interactive learning across all participating commands.

Maiwada said a total of 37 Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports (PAARs) were generated from the processed Forms M out of which 7 were registered, 12 had their Single Goods Declarations (SGDs) processed, 2 were fully approved, 8 were recommended for further review. 4 were submitted for processing, and 4 were queried.

“This outcome confirms the operational capacity of the B’Odogwu system to support end-to-end trade documentation during live implementation”, the release said.

The successful implementation of the Form M pilot on the B’Odogwu platform signals the beginning of a nationwide transition that will streamline customs documentation, enhance transparency, and promote faster clearance timelines.

Consequently, to enhance trade facilitation and supply chain security in the ongoing pilot phase, NCS encourages all carriers (shipping lines and airlines) to commence transmission of manifests to the B’dogwu platform while ensuring that all key stakeholders, particularly the financial institutions and traders, are adequately engaged and prepared for full deployment.

By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

Between January 2024 and January 2025, 1,723 vessels conducted ‘dark activities’, including turning off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) while on Nigerian waters.

Dr Dayo Mobereola

The Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4i) centre of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA) says this alarming number of vessels probably decided to tamper with their AIS system to enable them carry out illicit activities within Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone ( EEZ).

The C4i centre, a critical component of the Deep Blue project domiciled within NIMASA operates with contributions from various security agencies including the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Police and the Department of State Services.

It monitors vessels entering Nigerian waters using an intelligence system designed to detect any suspicious activity.

The supervisor of the C4i operation centre, Abdulrasak Lawal disclosed these findings recently during an oversight visit by the House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration to the Nigerian Maritime Resource Development Centre (NMRDC) in Lagos.

He explained that the system tracks the history of vessels, including their voyages and flags to determine any questionable activities for further investigation. The questionable activities include different types of sharp practices and the deliberate switching off of the AIS, among others.

Lawal said some of the vessels uncovered are suspected to have been engaged in illegal fishing, illegal bunkering, oil theft and dumping of harmful waste in the nation’s waters.

“These vessels, when they sail into our waters, turn off their transmission, and once they do that, you’re not able to track them. Once you are unable to track vessels operating on your waters, there are so many reasons associated with it. We have so many vessels coming for illegal bunkering, illegal fishing, dumping of harmful waste- they are part of the 1723 vessels conducting dark activities.

He added, “Immediately a vessel goes dark, we dispatch one of our aerial assets above that particular vessel to ascertain it’s activities at that moment.  Because once a vessel goes dark, it is a crime on its own, and we even have the power to detain any vessel that is conducting dark activities.”

Lawal also highlighted the significant volume of maritime traffic within Nigeria’s waters, which he said accounts for 47 percent of vessel traffic in the Gulf of Guinea with 33,530 port calls recorded between January and April 2025.

This, he said, is against figures from countries within the Gulf of The Guinea (GoG) like Ghana with 4,969 port calls, Gabon- 2,753, Equatorial Guinea- 2,196, Benin- 996, Liberia- 711, and Gambia with 328 port calls within the review period.

The high volume of traffic, Lawal noted, increases the potential for illegal activities and attack on vessels adding that as a member of the GoG, Nigeria is accountable to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for ensuring security of vessels in its maritime domain.

Lawal disclosed further that a total of 4,016 different vessels entered Nigeria’s EEZ between January and April 2025,

with 166 of them entering for the first time.

Despite the challenges posed by these dark activities, Lawal said the C4i centre of the deep blue project has been instrumental not only in identifying suspicious vessels but also in maintaining a record of zero piracy incidents in Nigeria waters for over one year.

By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

Chairman, Customs Consultative Council (CCC), Aare Hakeem Olanrewaju is optimistic that the currency swap agreement between Nigeria and China has the potential to address the challenges of inflation and other issues working against trade facilitation in the country.

Determined to relieve external funding pressures and ensure trade facilitation between Nigeria and China, both countries engaged in a series of negotiations for a bilateral currency swap framework.

Olanrewaju who chaired the recent breakfast meeting held in Lagos by the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria ( MARAN) recalled

a research of over ten years ago showing that prices of goods keep going up in Nigeria compared to other countries of the world.

” I believe the decision of MARAN to organise this breakfast meeting and bring stakeholders together will give us an insight into the benefits and challenges of the currency swap between Nigeria and China”, he said.

Statistics show that China is a strategic tool for trade efficiency and external sector diversification . It has the potentials to offer Nigeria’s maritime industry new trade opportunities with China, the country’s trading partner .

In his intervention, former Acting President, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr. Kayode Collins Farinto commended the Tinubu administration for courageous decisions being taken to move the country’s economy forward.

However , he wants Government to tackle the challenge of infrastructure which has been an impediment to trade facilitation so as to efficiently implement the currency swap deal.

Farinto also called for the construction of a functional rail system to make the Lekki Deep Sea port viable and disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund ( CVFF).

He urged the Federal Government to provide the financial support to MARAN to enable the pioneer maritime media association to lead in efforts to carry out needed sensitization on the implementation of the currency swap deal between the two countries.