The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has dismissed claims by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that Nigeria’s land borders remain closed, insisting that the borders cannot be reopened because they are already operational.
Tunji-Ojo, who oversees the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the agency responsible for border control and migration management, said it was necessary to clarify the status of the country’s land borders.
“As the Minister of Interior who supervises the Nigeria Immigration Service, being an agency of government in charge of border control and migration management, it is expedient to state that Nigerian borders are not closed and so cannot be reopened,” he said in a statement issued Saturday in Abuja.
The minister outlined the reopening of several land borders over the past few years, noting that the previous administration reopened the Seme, Illela, Maigatari and Mfum borders on December 16, 2020, with other crossings reopening subsequently.
He added that the Idiroko and Ikom borders were reopened to goods and services on April 20, 2022.
Under the current administration, Tunji-Ojo said the Kamba and Tsamiya borders in Kebbi State, linking Nigeria to Niger Republic and Benin Republic respectively, were reopened in February 2026.
Cameroon Border Closures
Tunji-Ojo also challenged Atiku’s reference to Nigeria’s borders with Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin Republic, arguing that the prolonged closure of the Banki and Amchidé crossings on the Cameroon border was not connected to the 2019 trade policy.
According to him, the closures date back to 2014, when Boko Haram insurgency forced the crossings to shut for security reasons.
“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, and reopened in 2019, with Fotokol and Gambaru following in 2021, after joint military and stabilisation efforts by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad,” he said.
The minister argued that linking the security-driven closures to the 2019 trade-related border policy incorrectly presents two separate issues as one.
“Folding this separate, security-driven history into one continuous 2019 shutdown misrepresents two distinct issues, trade regulation and counter-insurgency, as a single failure,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He acknowledged that some border crossings, particularly in parts of northern Nigeria, are not operating without restrictions.
However, he explained that tighter controls in areas affected by banditry or residual insurgent activity are deliberate security measures rather than evidence of government neglect.
