The Sea Empowerment & Research Center (SEREC) has raised the alarm over what it described as increasing attempts by criminal networks to exploit Nigeria’s ports, land borders and trade corridors, warning that the nation’s economic gateways are fast becoming critical national-security frontiers.
SEREC, in a public policy commendation and security alert signed by its Head of Research, Fwdr Eugene Nweke, RFF, on Sunday, commended the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, and the Service’s management for sustained intelligence-led interventions and the interception of prohibited and dangerous consignments across the country.
The organisation, however, warned that the recurring seizures of arms and ammunition, illicit drugs, prohibited goods, unreported currency and other sensitive consignments should no longer be treated as routine Customs enforcement.
According to SEREC, the frequency and nature of the interceptions suggest that Nigeria’s maritime and land-frontier networks are being persistently tested by transnational criminal syndicates, arms traffickers, drug cartels, organised smuggling networks and potentially terrorist-linked interests.
It said the development required an urgent shift in the country’s national-security consciousness.
“A seized container is not merely a Customs seizure. A prohibited weapon intercepted at a port is potentially a weapon denied to a criminal, terrorist or violent extremist network,” SEREC said.
“A narcotics consignment stopped at the border represents the disruption of a criminal supply chain.”
The organisation consequently declared that Nigeria’s ports, borders and trade corridors must be regarded not only as economic gateways but also as strategic national-security frontiers.
SEREC Issues Security Wake-Up Call
SEREC called on the Federal Government and relevant security and regulatory agencies to intensify intelligence gathering, border surveillance, inter-agency coordination and preventive security measures.
It warned against waiting until illicit arms, ammunition, narcotics, terrorist logistics or criminal finances had successfully entered the country before taking action.
The organisation said the activities and expansionist tendencies of bandits, terrorist and violent extremist organisations and other transnational criminal networks operating within and around the West African sub-region must be proactively contained.
SEREC said the concern had become particularly urgent as Nigeria gradually moves towards the 2027 general electioneering period.
It warned that heightened political activity, increased movement of people and goods, illicit financing, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, communal tensions and attempts by criminal elements to exploit political instability could create additional vulnerabilities.
It therefore urged the government to commence proactive security planning ahead of the electoral cycle.
“Ports, borders and critical trade corridors must not become supply channels, logistics platforms or financial conduits for terrorism, banditry, organised crime or election-related violence,” SEREC warned.
Customs Intelligence Strategy Gets Commendation
The organisation specifically praised the NCS for increasingly relying on intelligence gathering, risk profiling, targeted intervention, information analysis and inter-agency collaboration.
It described the approach as the direction modern Customs administration must take in confronting increasingly sophisticated smuggling networks.
According to SEREC, contemporary smuggling has evolved beyond individuals moving contraband through poorly guarded borders, with criminal enterprises now deploying complex supply chains, false documentation, front companies, concealment techniques, multiple transit routes and trade-based financial mechanisms.
The organisation called for increased government investment in advanced Customs intelligence and risk-management systems, secure real-time inter-agency information sharing, advance cargo and pre-arrival information analysis, non-intrusive inspection technology, maritime and land-border surveillance, data analytics and intelligence fusion.
It also demanded stronger international and regional Customs and security cooperation, specialised training for Customs intelligence personnel and improved logistics, welfare and operational support for officers deployed to sensitive locations.
Freight Forwarders, Brokers Must Join Security Architecture
SEREC also called for freight forwarders, Customs brokers, licensed bonded terminal operators, shipping and logistics companies and other legitimate participants in the trade chain to be incorporated into Nigeria’s border-security and trade-compliance framework.
It noted that these operators possess valuable information about consignors, consignees, cargo descriptions, documentation, routing and delivery arrangements.
The organisation, however, warned of a dual vulnerability within the sector.
While some legitimate operators may be unknowingly manipulated by criminal networks because of inadequate awareness or weak due diligence, SEREC said some unscrupulous industry actors knowingly facilitate or profit from illicit trade.
It advocated a comprehensive Port and Border Trade-Security Enlightenment and Compliance Programme for supply-chain stakeholders.
The programme, it said, should focus on identifying suspicious consignments and trade patterns, Know-Your-Customer and Know-Your-Consignor principles, document and cargo-risk indicators, concealment techniques, reporting channels, cyber and documentary fraud, illicit financial-flow red flags and the legal consequences of facilitating prohibited trade.
SEREC stressed that the objective should not be to criminalise the freight-forwarding and Customs-brokerage profession but to professionalise, educate and empower legitimate operators to serve as another layer of vigilance within the country’s supply-chain security system.
‘Move From Customs Vs Smugglers To Shared Responsibility’
SEREC said Nigeria must abandon the traditional concept of “Customs versus smugglers” and embrace a broader framework of shared responsibility for secure and legitimate trade.
It argued that government agencies and security personnel could not physically monitor every stage of cargo transactions, making private-sector participation indispensable.
The organisation urged freight-forwarding and logistics operators to regard intelligence reporting and compliance as part of their professional and patriotic responsibilities.
At the same time, it called on enforcement agencies to handle information supplied by industry stakeholders professionally and confidentially, while avoiding harassment of legitimate businesses.
Security Must Not Kill Trade Facilitation
SEREC cautioned that stronger border security should not result in indiscriminate cargo intervention or unnecessary delays for compliant traders.
Instead, it advocated a system where low-risk cargo is cleared efficiently while credible intelligence triggers targeted intervention against high-risk consignments.
The organisation said such an approach would combine modern Customs administration, technology, intelligence and professional supply-chain participation to protect national security without undermining legitimate commerce.
SEREC’s Eight-Point Demand
SEREC urged the Federal Government to recognise the growing security significance of Nigeria’s ports, borders and trade corridors and provide the NCS and other agencies with the resources, technology and institutional support required to secure them.
It also called for stronger intelligence fusion and real-time information sharing among the Customs Service, Nigerian Navy, NIMASA, Nigeria Police Force, immigration authorities, financial-intelligence institutions and other relevant agencies.
The organisation demanded heightened surveillance of maritime and land-frontier routes vulnerable to terrorist, bandit, arms-trafficking, drug-trafficking and organised-crime activities.
It further called for proactive security planning ahead of the 2027 elections, structured security training for freight forwarders and Customs brokers, firm sanctions for industry actors who knowingly facilitate criminal trade and continued movement by the NCS towards intelligence-driven, technology-enabled and risk-based enforcement.
‘Strengthen The Gate Before The Threat Enters’
SEREC said the growing number of Customs seizures should be viewed both as evidence of operational vigilance and as a warning that criminal networks are continually probing Nigeria’s borders and legitimate trade channels.
“Nigeria must therefore not wait for a catastrophic incident before strengthening its defences,” the organisation said.
It stressed that securing the country’s ports and frontiers could no longer be treated as the sole responsibility of Customs or conventional security agencies.
According to SEREC, government, security agencies, Customs, the maritime industry, freight forwarders, Customs brokers, bonded operators, financial institutions and the wider trading community must collectively protect Nigeria’s trade corridors.
As the country approaches another critical electoral cycle, SEREC urged heightened vigilance, insisting that Nigeria’s ports must remain gateways to legitimate commerce and not entry points for terrorism, banditry, organised crime, illicit arms, narcotics or other threats to national stability.
“The time to strengthen the gate is before the threat enters—not after the damage is done,” SEREC declared.Alternative headlines:
