Apapa Command Customs Officers Empowered with First Aid Skills

Apapa Command Customs Officers Empowered with First Aid Skills

By prince Benson Davies

The Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has commenced a comprehensive basic first aid training for its officers and men. The training, conducted by the service’s medical team, aims to equip personnel with life-saving skills that can be applied in emergencies. Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba, the Customs Area Controller, emphasized the importance of first aid knowledge, particularly in high-risk operational environments. The training covers various topics, including CPR, bleeding control, choking relief, and stroke recognition. This initiative reflects the Service’s commitment to staff welfare and operational readiness.

Oshoba noted that simple but timely interventions such as CPR, bleeding control, choking relief, and stroke recognition often determine whether a victim survives, fully recovers, or suffers preventable long-term damage. He warned that the absence of first aid capability during emergencies could lead to avoidable tragedies.

According to him, customs personnel sometimes operate in locations where doctors, nurses, and paramedics are not immediately available, making it essential for officers to serve as first responders. “The person standing next to you could be your emergency nurse or paramedic before a doctor is reached,” he said.

He highlighted first aid’s role in reducing injury severity, controlling bleeding, relieving pain, and stabilising victims who may be close to losing consciousness.

While acknowledging that some officers are familiar with first aid procedures, Oshoba urged them to treat the program as a vital refresher training program. He encouraged first-timers to fully engage with both the theoretical and practical sessions, stressing that hands-on application is key to mastering emergency response skills.

Expressing confidence that the participants would gain valuable competencies, the Comptroller formally declared the training open, describing it as “time well spent” for the Command and the Service at large.

During his remarks, the Medical Team Lead and Zonal Medical Officer for Zone B, Comptroller A.S Aku, guided the officers through hands-on sessions where every participant had the opportunity to demonstrate and practice CPR and techniques to restore someone choking.

“The truth is that when there is an emergency, you are a first responder. What you do in the first few minutes before help comes is very crucial. We are here to practice the basic skills that could save lives.

“At the end of the exercise, we should understand the four goals of first aid and identify the different types of first aid and when to administer them. We should also know about those techniques that we need. We have been encountering a lot of conditions whereby our bodies, our families, and our friends require some form of assistance from us as a first responder. But most times, we panic.”

The medical training included how to do CPR, dealing with bleeding, gunshot incidents, and bone and joint injuries, among others.

One of the high points of the meeting was the presentation of the Customs Medical Corps First Aid manual by the Zonal Medical Officer, Zone B Customs headquarters, to the Customs Area Controller, Apapa Command, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba.