The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has dismissed claims by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that Nigeria’s land borders remain closed, insisting there is nothing left to reopen since the borders are currently operational.
In a formal statement issued in Abuja on Saturday, August 29, 2026, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo refuted statements made by Atiku on Wednesday, August 26, 2026. Atiku, speaking during a visit by a political support group in Abuja, promised to reopen Nigeria’s borders with neighboring Benin, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon if elected president in 2027.
Tunji-Ojo, whose ministry oversees the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for migration and border management, clarified that the country’s borders are not shut and called Atiku’s core proposal factually incorrect.
“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,” Tunji-Ojo stated.
To refute the former Vice President’s claims, Tunji-Ojo outlined a detailed chronological timeline of border reopenings across successive administrations:
The federal government on December 16, 2020, reopened the Seme, Illela, Maigatari, and Mfum land border points. The Idiroko and Ikom border points were officially reopened on April 20, 2022, for full movement of goods and services.
Under the current administration, the Kamba and Tsamiya border posts in Kebbi State were reopened on February 2026, to facilitate active commercial trade with Niger Republic and Benin Republic.
The minister also rejected Atiku’s characterization of closures along the Cameroonian border corridors. He explained that long-standing closures at Banki and Amchidé were initiated in 2014 due to Boko Haram counter-insurgency operations, rather than the 2019 national border trade policy.
These crossings were systematically reopened in 2019, followed by the Fotokol and Gambaru border routes in 2021 after successful multi-national joint military operations 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,” Tunji-Ojo noted.
Addressing operational realities on the ground, Tunji-Ojo acknowledged that while primary trade corridors are active, select northern entry points remain subject to heightened security checks.
Strict border controls remain active in specific areas affected by persistent banditry or residual insurgent activity to safeguard border communities.
Effective border control requires a balance of national security, proper documentation, customs compliance, and regulated trade facilitation, rather than a binary choice between total shutdown or unrestricted movement.
Cautioning against rewriting recent administrative history for political leverage, Tunji-Ojo urged opposition politicians to present alternative policy frameworks rather than mischaracterizing existing border infrastructure.
