You Can’t Reopen What Is Not Closed, Interior Minister Tells Atiku

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has faulted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s plan to reopen Nigeria’s land borders if elected in 2027, saying borders are not closed.

“As the Minister of Interior who supervises the Nigeria Immigration Service, 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,” Tunji-Ojo said in a statement Saturday.

He recalled previous administration reopened four major land borders — Seme, Illela, Maigatari and Mfum — on December 16, 2020, with Idiroko and Ikom subsequently reopened April 20, 2022 for goods and services.

He added current administration reopened Kamba and Tsamiya in Kebbi State in February 2026, providing links to Niger Republic and Benin Republic.

The minister disputed Atiku’s reference to borders with Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin as subjected to prolonged closure because of 2019 trade policy.

“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.

He said crossings were reopened in 2019, while Fotokol and Gambaru followed in 2021 after joint military and stabilisation efforts by 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.

Tunji-Ojo acknowledged some northern crossings not yet fully unrestricted due to security.

“Not every northern crossing is fully unrestricted today. Where banditry or residual insurgent activity persists, tighter control is a deliberate security judgement, not neglect,” he said, warning reopening ahead of security improvement could expose traders and border communities to risks.

“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.

He challenged Atiku to detail his proposed border policy.

“If he has a new border proposal, he should set it out and explain how it differs from the current approach, rather than treating separate trade, security and infrastructure issues as one and the same.”

“Political competition should not become a competition to rewrite recent history,” Tunji-Ojo added.

Atiku, who has sought presidency in six cycles since 1993, also proposed developing seaports in South-South and South-East to address imbalance, saying he held discussions with shippers in Europe during 2023 campaign.