ECONOMIC activities were at the lowest ebb on Monday at the Seme-Krake border.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) scanner section at the border post remained closed, while petrol attendants at the ConOil filling station had little to do.
For over eight hours our correspondent spent at the border, men of the NCS, the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the police and Army thoroughly searched the few vehicles and passengers that plied the route.
At the Gbaji checkpoint, long queues of vehicles, arising from the intensive checks, were sighted.
A visit to the ECOWAS building in Seme revealed the extremely low level of economic activities. At the Immigration section of the building, less than 15 travellers were seen processing their travel documents, either into or out of the country.
Pedestrians attempting to go through the border without valid travel documents were turned back at both ends.
Still, over 1,000 trucks conveying various goods were seen parked at the huge landmass around the ECOWAS building.
The trucks were awaiting clearance but for the restriction of movement at the border.
A truck driver Ibrahim Zana said he and his colleagues haD been stranded at the border since the restriction of movement started.
He added that one of his colleagues needed medical attention but could not get it because they had run out of cash.
At the scanning section of the NCS, not a single consignment was seen; just as trucks parked at the examination bay of the service were left unattended to. Banking activities at the border also suffered.
With no duties to be paid and travel restricted, the First Bank at the border remained virtually on holiday.
Checks across the border towards the Krake (Benin Republic) end, also showed inactivity on the side.
A Nigerian traveller from Togo, after completing his documentation at the Immigration point, told The Nation that business activities from Togo were at a standstill.
The traveller, who spoke in confidence, said several trucks were parked at the entry points of Togo and Benin Republic, waiting to enter Nigeria with their consignments.
Top security sources at the Seme-Krake border told our correspondent that the current situation further showed that Nigeria is the main economic backbone of its neighbours.
For instance, the sources said the ripple effect of the border closure in Nigeria had taken a toll on the price of petrol in Benin Republic to about 150 per cent.
Asked to assess the economic implications of the movement restriction, another security officer at Seme, who craved for anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media, said security matters supersede economic considerations.
“We won’t trade our security for economic reasons. Look at what is happening all over the country in the area of security. We have been too lenient as a country because of our African brotherhood belief that we carry on our head. In fact, this ECOWAS protocol agreement the country signed years ago needs to be revisited because it is not skewed in our favour as a country,” the source said.
At 6:15 p.m on Monday, our correspondent was denied entry into Nigeria by men of the NIS. This happened after he had identified himself and explained his mission at the border.
It was with the intervention of a senior immigration officer he was allowed to leave the border post.
This is because men of the NIS at the entry point into Nigeria refused to grant access to travellers with valid travel documents on the grounds that the borders were shut between 6 a.m and 6 p.m daily until further notice.
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