Seme Border is a settlement in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

on the border with

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

, thirty minutes drive from Badagry on the coastal road between

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

and

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

. Seme is a part of Badagry Division of

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Benin ...

. With the present political division in the state, it is under Badagry -West Local council development area (LCDA). A new multilateral facility for the border post was formally opened on 23 October 2018. At least three times in the 2005-2009 period violence has broken out in the border town, with fatal consequences. It is reportedly a regular occurrence for Nigerian officials to harass travelers for money at the border or at checkpoints along the road leading from the border. The drive time between Badagry and Seme border has been tripled by the presence of these illegal checkpoints instituted to extort travelers. Of particular mention are the Immigration officers who engage in daylight robbery. The border post is poorly organized, without proper vehicle routing and inspection stations. Some of the Nigerian positions have been inside Beninese territory since April 6, 2001. This confusion is exploited by smugglers. Seme is a major crossing point for immigrants entering or leaving Nigeria illegally, and for smugglers of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in variou ...

and other illegal goods due to its porousity. SON unveils Seme Border operations to check influx of substandard products and also the Seme border Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, collected N701.5 million as revenue in August 2017 and recently they generated N1.1 billion in September 2017 . It is however sad to note that this settlement has been in utter darkness for more than a decade. It lacks all social amenities as it has been neglected by the government in every respect. Today dated October 17, 2017, Federal Government to lift the ban on importation of used vehicles through the borders as the president and chairman of the board, saying it was against Association of Registered Freight Forwarders Nigeria, ARFFN's constitution to lay embargo on vehicles brought into Nigeria economy

References

Populated places in Lagos State Populated coastal places in Nigeria Benin–Nigeria border crossings {{LagosNG-geo-stub