Dr Abdallah Ali-Nakyea, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Ghana and a Director of Ali-Nakyea & Associates says that the porous nature of borders makes patrolling difficult.

According to him, regardless of the route used, individuals will eventually enter towns where informants can identify and report them.

• Read also: JoyNews exposes Customs officials demanding bribes in ‘Porous Borders’ Hotline Documentary

JoyNews investigations revealed that customs officials accept bribes to permit traders to transport smuggled goods from neighbouring countries into local markets.

These officials take bribes ranging from $20 to $200, allowing traders to evade taxes on their goods and avoid penalties.

Speaking on the JoyNews AM show, Dr. Ali-Nakyea said, "It is not easy patrolling except we know only the designated points, and now even with the designated points, we need to look at addressing issues of staff morale, reward, training, and conscientization. If we talk of illicit financial flows, this is one of them.”.

Dr. Ali-Nakyea emphasised the need for collaboration, as some individuals entering the country illegally could be terrorists, and their documentation status may be unknown.

He explained that due to the ECOWAS protocol of free movement of persons, there must be cooperative efforts from both sides.

He said this is crucial because individuals entering with uncustomed goods or without proper documentation could have come from neighbouring countries.

“What is the protocol arrangement from with the other side to ensure that we work with one another because as we say the world is a global village “.