Lekki Port Laments Inadequate Use of Its Cargo Scanning System

BY FUNMI ALUKO

At  a time stakeholders are applauding the leadership and management of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for improved operation across board, especially in the area of modernization for efficient service delivery, operators of the Lekki Deep Seaport has expressed concerns about the underutilization of its non-intrusive cargo scanning in favour of physical examination of containers.

This accusation is however coming on the heels of the reality of risks posed to national security following the discovery of the smuggling of prohibited imports, some of which are highly dangerous to society and Nigerians; and which includes drugs, expired pharmaceuticals and consumables, arms and ammunition etc.

Operators of the Lekki Deep Seaport which conducted news men round its facilities recently complained that despite the availability of advanced drive-through scanners capable of inspecting containers in just 30 seconds, physical examination is still occasionally applied in the cargo clearance process.

Deputy Chief Operating Officer of Lekki Freeport Terminal, Mr. Daniel Odibe while lamenting constraints to new deep seaport operational efficiencies said that the port currently has two FS6000 scanners that allow for automated, non-intrusive inspection of cargoes, drastically reducing dwell time and enhancing cargo security.

He noted, however, that Customs officials rely on manual inspection, a situation he described as counter-productive and disruptive to the port’s end-to-end automation model.

 “Our scanners can process containers in 30 seconds. It’s a drive-through system where even if you have bottled water inside a sealed bag, the system will pick it up clearly,” Odibe said. “But despite this, Customs is still insisting on manual examinations in some cases, which defeats the purpose of such investment.”

Odibe expressed concern that the physical examination process not only consumes space within the terminal, but also slows down cargo movement, undermining the port’s efficiency goals. “We’ve allocated space for physical inspection, but the idea is to eliminate this completely in favour of full scanning. Customs must evolve,” he said.

He said that the Lekki Deep Seaport which commenced full commercial operations in 2023 , is projected to handle over one million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually. This is even as Odibe claimed that over 222,000 TEUs have already been handled in the first half of 2025, a figure he says nearly quadrupling the 2024 performance.

He said apart from the scanning technology, the port has deployed an advanced Vehicle Booking System (VBS) and an automated truck entry system to manage port traffic.

He also noted that trucks are scheduled digitally and granted access through a man-less auto gate, where biometric and license plate recognition systems are used to process entry without human intervention.

Industry watchers argue that the reliance on physical examination in most ports provides cover for under-declaration, concealment of prohibited goods, and outright smuggling.

According to industry observers, although Lekki Port  system may have made  such concealment more difficult, the leakages of questionable imports remains a dilemma that cannot be overlooked, even as they urged Customs to standardize automated scanning in fully compliant ports without an iota of compliant bothering on risks.