Niger and the Benin Republic have agreed to set up a border patrol
force with Nigeria to check the activities of smugglers.
This was contained in a communique released after a meeting in Abuja
on Thursday to reach an agreement on how to tackle smuggling, which
Nigeria gave as the reason for closing its land borders.
The countries were represented by their foreign ministers.
Nigeria had partially closed its borders in August with the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Customs saying the border closure has
yielded positive results.
According to the joint communique, the Benin and Niger delegation
appealed for an immediate reopening of the borders.
In October, the Nigeria Customs Service had banned imports and exports
of all goods through the land borders.
A leaked memo signed by a senior Customs official had directed that
the closure remain closed till at least January 31 with a possibility
to extend beyond January.
โDelegates agreed on the establishment of a joint border patrol team
comprising the police, customs, immigration, navy and state security
services of the three countries,โ the communique said.
Reuters reports that the force will hold its first meeting in Abuja on
November 25 and 26.
Delegates also said they would ensure that people crossing their
borders will present travel documents registered by the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) while the ministers of
finance and trade of the various countries will set up a committee to
promote intra-regional trade.
