Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command, will commence examining 200 containers per hour at Lagos Port with modern scanners.
It was learnt that the scanners being deployed will use high-penetration dual-energy X-ray transmission technology to inspect trucks and containers in one pass at speeds up to 15 km/h, allowing for non-stop inspection at busy locations like ports and border crossings.
The Customs Area Controller of Apapa Port Command, Comptroller Oluwadare Oshoba, urged port users and stakeholders to brace up for a more seamless trade process.
The Public Relations Officer of the command, Tunde Ayagbalo, disclosed this in a statement on Monday shortly after inspecting the location for the installation of three new scanners at the port, saying that Comptroller Oshoba had said that the command was ready to surpass expectations as the scanners would be examining 200 containers per hour.
While describing the quayside location for the scanners as an operational masterstroke, the comptroller noted that no consignment would escape high-tech driven, non-intrusive inspection at Apapa port as the scanners would be strategically positioned close to the berthing area.
Oshoba, who commended CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi for his relentless commitment to NCS modernisation, also urged officers to prepare for intensive train-the-trainer sessions, as the next phase after installation would be training ahead of full deployment
He advised NCS ICT officers to improve on capacity building for tier one and tier two levels of maintenance of the scanners, which are the first of their kind in the West and Central Africa subregion
Oshoba described the feat as a great milestone about to happen and advised port users, especially importers, exporters and their agents to uphold the tenet of sincere declaration as all false declarations and concealment would be exposed by the technology.
Oshoba said: “I want to, on behalf of our officers and men, thank the CGC for leading us through an era of revolutionary customs modernisation. The coming of these scanners is one of the many great fruits we shall be harvesting from the modernisation project.
“Our partners, the Trade Modernisation Project (TMP), have assured us that the installation would last for 45 days, and we are expecting two units of scanners from them, with an additional one from APM Terminals.
“These three scanners would ensure that there is no downtime for cargo examination here and reinforce our position as the number one destination for port activities in Nigeria.
“All hands must be on deck to see to the full realisation of this dream, which would save time, increase revenue, enhance national security, promote trade and prevent port-related crimes from the earliest point of entry.”
Also, the TMP Team Leader at the site, Aliyu Suleiman, gave details on the scanners produced by Nuctech in China. He described them as the NUCTECH FS6000 with a high-throughput, non-intrusive, drive-through X-ray inspection system for cargo and vehicles.
According to the expert, the system provides detailed images that help identify concealed contraband and dangerous materials, and its compact, modular design allows for easy relocation and integration with other systems like License Plate Recognition (LPR) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).
In addition to the three fixed scanners that are being installed, APM Terminals has also promised to provide a mobile scanner to serve as support in the event of unexpected downtime.
