By Babs Oyetoro
The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to clearly spell out his proposed border management policy, arguing that a campaign promise to “reopen” Nigeria’s land borders offers little clarity since the country’s borders are already operational.
Tunji-Ojo said the debate should move beyond political slogans to the more critical question of how any administration intends to balance cross-border trade and economic integration with national security.
The minister’s challenge followed Atiku’s pledge to reopen all closed land borders if elected president in 2027, a proposal the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate said would boost trade, ease food prices and provide relief for businesses operating across Nigeria’s borders.
But Tunji-Ojo, who supervises the Nigeria Immigration Service, said Atiku’s position was based on an inaccurate characterisation of the country’s current border arrangements.
“As the Minister of Interior who supervises the Nigeria Immigration Service, 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 in Abuja.
He said several major land crossings had long resumed operations, contrary to suggestions that Nigeria’s borders remained under a blanket closure.
According to him, the Seme, Illela, Maigatari and Mfum border posts were reopened on December 16, 2020, while Idiroko and Ikom resumed operations for goods and services in April 2022.
Tunji-Ojo added that the Kamba and Tsamiya border posts in Kebbi State, linking Nigeria with the Niger Republic and Benin Republic respectively, were reopened under the current administration in February 2026.
The minister also faulted Atiku’s reference to border crossings along the Cameroon axis, saying the closures at Banki and Amchidé were driven by insurgency rather than the trade restrictions introduced in 2019.
“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,” he said.
Tunji-Ojo explained that the subsequent reopening of crossings in the area followed joint military and stabilisation efforts involving Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
“Folding this separate, security-driven history into one continuous 2019 shutdown misrepresents two distinct issues, trade regulation and counter-insurgency, as a single failure,” he said.
He acknowledged that tighter restrictions remained in force at some border corridors affected by banditry and residual insurgency but maintained that such measures were necessary to protect border communities and legitimate travellers.
“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 risks,” the minister said.
Tunji-Ojo argued that managing Nigeria’s extensive borders required more than simply declaring them open or closed, stressing the need to reconcile trade facilitation with immigration control, customs compliance and security concerns.
He consequently challenged political actors to present clear alternatives on border governance rather than merge separate challenges involving trade policy, insecurity and infrastructure into a single campaign issue.
