Tunji-Ojo Debunks Atiku’s Land Border Claim, Says Nigeria’s Borders Not Closed

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has dismissed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s promise to reopen Nigeria’s land borders if elected president in 2027, insisting that the country’s borders are already open and therefore cannot be “reopened.”

Tunji-Ojo, who oversees the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), said Atiku’s claim appeared to conflate different episodes involving trade restrictions, security-related border closures and infrastructure limitations into one continuous shutdown.

In a statement issued yesterday, the minister recalled that several major land borders had been reopened under the previous administration and that additional crossings had subsequently been restored.

He said the Seme, Illela, Maigatari and Mfum borders were reopened on December 16, 2020, while Idiroko and Ikom were reopened for goods and services on April 20, 2022.

According to him, the current administration also reopened Kamba and Tsamiya in Kebbi State in February 2026, providing links to Niger Republic and Benin Republic, respectively.

Tunji-Ojo also challenged the interpretation of border closures involving Cameroon, saying restrictions at Banki and Amchidé were not connected to the 2019 trade policy.

He explained that the two crossings had been closed in 2014 following Boko Haram attacks and were subsequently reopened in 2019, with Fotokol and Gambaru following in 2021 after joint military and stabilisation efforts involving Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

The minister warned that presenting the different episodes as one prolonged 2019 border closure distorted the historical record.

“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, however, acknowledged that not every border crossing in the northern part of the country currently operates without restrictions, stressing that prevailing security conditions dictated such measures.

“Where banditry or residual insurgent activity persists, tighter control is a deliberate security judgement, not neglect,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He argued that effective border management could not be reduced to a choice between completely shutting borders and allowing unrestricted movement.

According to him, contemporary border management requires the simultaneous enforcement of security, proper documentation, customs compliance and controlled trade facilitation.

The minister consequently challenged the former vice president to explain the specific changes his proposed border policy would introduce if elected, rather than describing the current situation as a wholesale border closure.

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

“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 the same.”