Borders not closed, cannot be reopened, FG replies Atiku
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo
Abdullateef Fowewe
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has dismissed claims by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that he would reopen Nigeria’s land borders if elected president in 2027, saying the country’s borders are already open and therefore “cannot be reopened.”
Tunji-Ojo, in a statement signed on Saturday, said the comments attributed to Atiku failed to distinguish between border closures imposed under the 2019 trade policy and restrictions necessitated by insecurity in some border communities.
“Attention has been drawn to comments by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on his plans to reopen Nigeria’s land borders if elected President in 2027.
“As the Minister of Interior who supervises the Nigeria Immigration Service, being an agency of government in charge of border and migration management, it is expedient to state that Nigerian borders are not closed and so cannot be reopened,” the Minister said.
The minister listed several border posts which, he said, had been reopened since the closure of land borders under the previous administration.
According to him, Seme, Illela, Maigatari and Mfum border posts were reopened on December 16, 2020, while Idiroko and Ikom were reopened for goods and services on April 20, 2022.
He added that Kamba and Tsamiya border posts in Kebbi State were reopened in February 2026 under the current administration, linking Nigeria to Niger Republic and the Benin Republic respectively.
Tunji-Ojo said Atiku specifically mentioned Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin Republic in his comments, but noted that the history of border restrictions with Cameroon was largely driven by counter-insurgency concerns rather than trade policy.
The Minister said the prolonged closure of the Banki and Amchidé border posts along the Cameroon border began in 2014 after Boko Haram attacks forced authorities to shut the crossings.
He said the locations were reopened in 2019, while Fotokol and Gambaru later reopened in 2021 following military and stabilisation efforts involving Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
“The prolonged closures on the Cameroon border, at Banki and Amchidé, did not arise from the 2019 trade policy at all.
“They date to 2014, when Boko Haram forced their closure for security reasons,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He argued that presenting the security-related closures as part of a single 2019 shutdown amounted to a misrepresentation of the facts.
“Folding this separate, security-driven history into one continuous 2019 shutdown misrepresents two distinct issues, trade regulation and counter-insurgency, as a single failure,” the statement added.
Tunji-Ojo acknowledged that some northern border crossings were not yet fully unrestricted, citing continuing threats from banditry and residual insurgent activity.
He said tighter controls in such areas were intentional security measures rather than evidence of neglect by the Federal Government.
“Not every northern crossing is fully unrestricted today. Where banditry or residual insurgent activity persists, tighter control is a deliberate security judgement, not neglect, since reopening ahead of the security situation would expose traders and border communities to greater risk,” he noted.
He maintained that modern border management required a balance between security, migration documentation, customs compliance and trade facilitation.
“Modern border management is not a choice between total closure and unrestricted movement; it requires security, documentation, customs compliance and controlled trade facilitation together,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo urged Atiku to present any alternative border-management policy clearly, rather than, in his words, conflating trade, security and infrastructure challenges.
“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,” the Minister added.
