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Contrary to the comment by the former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, that he would reopen Nigerian land borders if elected president in 2027, Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has stated that Nigerian borders are not closed and, therefore, cannot be reopened.
According to the minister, on December 16, 2020, the previous government reopened Seme, Illela, Maigatari and Mfum. Idiroko and Ikom were reopened for goods and services on April 20, 2022, as well as Kamba and Tsamiya in Kebbi State.
In a statement, Tunji-Ojo said that the former vice-president specifically named Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin Republic.
The prolonged closures on the Cameroon border, at Banki and Amchidé, did not arise from the 2019 trade policy at all.
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In 2014, Boko Haram forced their closure for security reasons, and they were reopened in 2019, with Fotokol and Gambaru following in 2021, after joint military and stabilisation efforts by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
According to the minister, not every northern border is fully unrestricted today. Where banditry or residual insurgent activity persists, tighter control is a deliberate security judgement, not neglect.
Modern border management is not a choice between total closure and unrestricted movement; it requires security, documentation, customs compliance and controlled trade facilitation together.
“Political competition should not become a competition to rewrite recent history. If he has a new border proposal, he should set it out and explain how it differs from the current approach, rather than treating separate trade, security and infrastructure issues as one and the same,” he said.
