The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) medical team yesterday trained officers and men of the Apapa Area Command on basic first aid training.
The Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba according to a press release issued by the public relations officer of the command, Superintendent of Customs SC JT Ayagbalo described the initiative as a crucial investment in workplace safety and operational readiness.
In his welcome address, Comptroller Oshoba emphasized that the programme reflects the priority placed on staff welfare by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR.
He described first aid knowledge as a universal life skill that every adult should possess, especially officers as they are frequently exposed to high-risk operational environments.
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 stabilizing 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 programme 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.
In his words, "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, 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, bone and joint injuries, among others.
One of the highpoints of the meeting was the presentation of 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.
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