The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has rejected former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s claim that he would reopen Nigeria’s land borders if elected president in 2027, saying the borders are already open.
Tunji-Ojo, who supervises the Nigeria Immigration Service, said Nigeria’s borders “are not closed and so cannot be reopened,” while outlining a series of border reopenings carried out under successive administrations.
The minister said Seme, Illela, Maigatari and Mfum were reopened on December 16, 2020, with Idiroko and Ikom following on April 20, 2022. Kamba and Tsamiya in Kebbi State were also reopened in February 2026, providing links to Niger Republic and Benin Republic.
He also disputed the suggestion that restrictions along Nigeria’s border with Cameroon stemmed from the 2019 trade policy, explaining that the closures at Banki and Amchidé began in 2014 because of Boko Haram attacks.
According to the minister, those crossings reopened in 2019, while Fotokol and Gambaru followed in 2021 after joint military and stabilisation operations involving Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
Tunji-Ojo said treating the separate trade and security measures as one prolonged border closure “misrepresents two distinct issues, trade regulation and counter insurgency, as a single failure.”
The minister acknowledged that some crossings in the northern part of the country remain subject to tighter controls because of banditry and residual insurgent activity.
He said such restrictions were deliberate security decisions aimed at protecting traders and border communities, warning that reopening crossings before security conditions improve could expose communities to greater risks.
Tunji-Ojo maintained that modern border management does not revolve around choosing between complete closure and unrestricted movement, but requires security measures alongside documentation, customs compliance and controlled trade facilitation.
The minister urged Atiku to explain any new border policy he intends to pursue rather than presenting trade restrictions, security challenges and infrastructure concerns as one issue.
“Political competition should not become a competition to rewrite recent history,” Tunji-Ojo said, adding that any proposed border policy should be set out clearly and distinguished from the approach currently in place.